LewisGT

21. Uruguay Group H CONMEBOL (5/6) World Ranking: 17 Best Result: Winners (1930, 1950) Fixtures: Saudi Arabia (15th June, 11PM) Cape Verde (21st June, 11PM) Spain (27th June, 1AM) Uruguay won their first two appearances at the World Cup and, while they have never quite reached those heights again, they are constantly in that second-tier of sides who always have the potential to reach the later stages. However, they go into this tournament with more questions surrounding them than ever. Their qualifying campaign was completely up-and-down. They had early wins against Brazil and Argentina and looked to be cruising at the mid-way point, but then things started to fall apart. Their form dipped massively and as Suárez retired in September 2024, he publicly slammed the manager describing him as causing a toxic environment which was backed by other key players. Public opinion seemed to turn on the manager too with many feeling like he’s not getting the best out of the side. In November, Bielsa hosted a 105-minute post-match press conference after a 5-1 defeat to the USA where defended his role. Two draws in March against England and Algeria in March haven’t really changed their fortunes but they certainly have the talent to turn things around. The Manager: Marcelo Bielsa As I’ve already said, he’s facing a lot of pressure in Uruguay currently by Bielsa remains, without a doubt, one of the most influential and respected managers in world football. He retired from his playing career at 25 to focus on management. He had spells in Argentina, Mexico and Spain before being awarded the Argentina national team job in 1998. He led them to a disappointing World Cup in 2002 but won Olympic gold in 2004. He then took over at Chile and saw them reach the Quarter-Finals of World Cup 2010 but resigned after Segovia became the FA’s president. At Athletic Bilbao, he leaded the side to the UEFA Cup semi-final after knocking-out Manchester United with a performance that shocked Sir Alex Ferguson and seemed to instantly make him a cult-favourite in the UK. This was only enhanced when he joined Leeds United in 2018 and helped them gain promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 16-years. His high-tempo, hard-working, all-out-attack style has become iconic and has helped his sides punch well above their weight. Key Player: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) The vice-captain of Real Madrid, Valverde has faced some stick recently, especially after the details of his fight with teammate Tchouaméni were made public. Despite this he has been a key midfielder in a very successful Madrid side for years now and his performances against Man City recently show just how special he can be. A very versatile player, he has played full-back many a time for Madrid and has the ability to fit in wherever Uruguay need this summer. Why they're actually going to win it: When everyone buys into his methods, Bielsa makes Kalvin Phillips and Jack Harrison look like world-beaters. If he can get the players on side for 8 weeks, they are more than capable of doing something special.

22. Turkey Group D UEFA (11/16) World Ranking: 22 Best Result: Third-Place (2002) Fixtures: Australia (14th June, 5AM) Paraguay (20th June, 4AM) USA (26th June, 3AM) It feels crazy that this is only Turkey’s third ever appearance at the World Cup and their first since finishing third in 2002. They were very unfortunate to be placed with Spain in their qualifying group but still impressed in their matches and a heavy defeat against Spain early on was the only thing separating the sides. In the play-offs, they looked more nervy but successive 1-0 victories against Romania and Kosovo were enough to see them here. This feels like a really exciting time for Turkey though. They had a strong showing at the recent Euros and have plenty of young, exciting talent coming of age. They are one of those sides that everyone seems to hype up before they end up disappointing but maybe this time, they can live up to the expectations. The Manager: Vincenzo Montella A prolific goalscorer in his native Italy, Montella played for Empoli, Genoa and Sampdoria but it was his 10-year spell at Roma where he had the best times of his career, winning a Seria A title and eventually being welcomed in their Hall of Fame. He did also have a 10-game stint in England on loan at Fulham at the tail end of his playing career. As an international, he made 20 appearances for Italy and was in their 2002 World Cup squad. His first spell as a manager was as caretaker at Roma but he’s since had two spells at Fiorentina, Sampdoria, AC Milan and Sevilla. But it’s with Turkey were he’s really found a home. First by booking Adana Demirspor their first ever European qualification and since having great success with the national side. Turkey always have the flair but Montella has worked hard at making them more solid and being able to grind out results. Key Player: Arda Güler (Real Madrid) Still only 21 but already a Champions League winner, Güler is one of the most exciting young players in the World. A winger with a deadly left foot, his low centre-of-gravity makes him very tough to tackle and he has a great ability to make the right pass. He was a teenager in EURO 2024 but still was key to the Turkey side that reached the Quarter-Finals winning Man of the Match in his tournament debut after scoring a memorable worldie. Why they're actually going to win it: Every time they qualify for a tournament, they are everyone’s dark horse but the finally look like they might have enough to actually follow-through with the hype this time.

I want it all 😍 Will definitely order one of the new vinyls. It's been so long since I bought a hoodie that I think I might get this one too!

1. Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (1-2-2-1-1) 2. Maisie Peters & Julia Michaels - Kingmaker (1-3-2-2) 3. Kim Petras - Need For Speed (3-1-3-3) 4. Maisie Peters - My Regards (1-1-1-2-1-2-2-1-1-1-2-4-4-4-4) 5. Kacey Musgraves - I Believe In Ghosts (5-5-5) 6. Kacey Musgraves - Mexico Honey (6-6-6) 7. Madison Beer - lovergirl (14-7) 8. Kacey Musgraves - Back On The Wagon (9-9-8) 9. Kacey Musgraves - Abilene (8-8-9) 10. Gracie Abrams - Hit the Wall (10) 11. Charli xcx - Rock Music (12-11) 12. Zara Larsson, Madison Beer & BAMBII - The Ambition (13-7-12) 13. Madison Beer - somehow i got lucky (11-13) 14. Kylie Cantrall - Carrie Bradshaw (3-3-6-10-13-14) 15. Ella Langley - Be Her (7-7-10-15) 16. Madison Beer - locket theme (16) 17. Jorja Smith - What's Done Is Done (17) 18. Laufey - Madwoman (4-5-5-11-15-18) 19. AJ Tracey - Quaresma (18-(x1)-19) 20. Kim Petras - Jeep (18-20) Falling Out This Week Are: Madison Beer - free (16) Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell (1-1-2-2-2-4-8-12-17) Anyma & LISA - Bad Angel (11-7-9-14-19) Janet Devlin - Working For The Man (14-8-11-15-20) Retro Top 10 1. Alessi Rose - Same Mouth (1) 2. ROSÉ - Messy (1-2) 3. Kylie Cantrall - Denim (11-4-6-3-3) 4. Stormzy - SORRY RACH! (4-4) 5. Hailee Steinfeld - Dangerous (3-1-1-2-5) 6. Kylie Cantrall feat. ILLIT - See U Tonight (8-6) 7. Kylie Cantrall - Goodie Bag (20-(x10)-7-7) 8. Dove Cameron - French Girls (5-9-8) 9. Maren Morris - push me over (12-9) 10. Maren Morris - i hope i never fall in love (13-10) Album of the Week 2026: 7th January 2026: Laufey - A Matter of Time 14th January 2026: Laufey - A Matter of Time 21st January 2026: Madison Beer - locket 28th January 2026: Madison Beer - locket 4th February 2026: Madison Beer - locket 11th February 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 18th February 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 25th February 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 4th March 2026: BLACKPINK - DEADLINE (EP) 11th March 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 18th March 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 25th March 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 1st April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 8th April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 15th April 2026: Laufey - A Matter of Time 22nd April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 29th April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 6th May 2026: Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere 13th May 2026: Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere 20th May 2026: Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere This Week's Number One Highest New Entry

1. Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (1-2-2-1-1) 2. Maisie Peters & Julia Michaels - Kingmaker (1-3-2-2) 3. Kim Petras - Need For Speed (3-1-3-3) 4. Maisie Peters - My Regards (1-1-1-2-1-2-2-1-1-1-2-4-4-4-4) 5. Kacey Musgraves - I Believe In Ghosts (5-5-5) 6. Kacey Musgraves - Mexico Honey (6-6-6) 7. Madison Beer - lovergirl (14-7) 8. Kacey Musgraves - Back On The Wagon (9-9-8) 9. Kacey Musgraves - Abilene (8-8-9) 10. Gracie Abrams - Hit the Wall (10) 11. Charli xcx - Rock Music (12-11) 12. Zara Larsson, Madison Beer & BAMBII - The Ambition (13-7-12) 13. Madison Beer - somehow i got lucky (11-13) 14. Kylie Cantrall - Carrie Bradshaw (3-3-6-10-13-14) 15. Ella Langley - Be Her (7-7-10-15) 16. Madison Beer - locket theme (16) 17. Jorja Smith - What's Done Is Done (17) 18. Laufey - Madwoman (4-5-5-11-15-18) 19. AJ Tracey - Quaresma (18-(x1)-19) 20. Kim Petras - Jeep (18-20)

1. Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (1-2-2-1-1) 2. Maisie Peters & Julia Michaels - Kingmaker (1-3-2-2) 3. Kim Petras - Need For Speed (3-1-3-3) 4. Maisie Peters - My Regards (1-1-1-2-1-2-2-1-1-1-2-4-4-4-4) 5. Kacey Musgraves - I Believe In Ghosts (5-5-5) 6. Kacey Musgraves - Mexico Honey (6-6-6) 7. Madison Beer - lovergirl (14-7) 8. Kacey Musgraves - Back On The Wagon (9-9-8) 9. Kacey Musgraves - Abilene (8-8-9) 10. Gracie Abrams - Hit the Wall (10) 11. Charli xcx - Rock Music (12-11) 12. Zara Larsson, Madison Beer & BAMBII - The Ambition (13-7-12) 13. Madison Beer - somehow i got lucky (11-13) 14. Kylie Cantrall - Carrie Bradshaw (3-3-6-10-13-14) 15. Ella Langley - Be Her (7-7-10-15) 16. Madison Beer - locket theme (16) 17. Jorja Smith - What's Done Is Done (17) 18. Laufey - Madwoman (4-5-5-11-15-18) 19. AJ Tracey - Quaresma (18-(x1)-19) 20. Kim Petras - Jeep (18-20)

It’s the 10 year anniversary of the album today! It still feels as fresh as ever for me.

Congratulations to Arsenal on their title win! Although on a purely footballing level, they are the most uninspiring winners I can remember. They're awful to watch!

Hull vs Middlesbrough it is on Saturday! Southampton have been kicked-out of the play-offs.

23. Sweden Group F UEFA (12/16) World Ranking: 38 Best Result: Final (1958) Fixtures: Tunisia (15th June, 3AM) Netherlands (20th June, 6PM) Japan (26th June, 12AM) It’s impressive to qualify for a World Cup without winning any of the standard qualifying matches but that’s exactly what Sweden have done. They had two draws with Slovenia and four defeats to Switzerland and Kosovo in their diabolical group stage where manager Jon Dahl Tomasson was accused of being a Danish agent sent to destroy Swedish football before his eventually sacking with two-games to spare. But his National League group victory the year before provided Sweden an extra opportunity in the play-offs which they certainly took full advantage of. A 3-1 victory against Ukraine and a 3-2 win over Poland saw them book their spot in the most unlikely of circumstances after beating two tough sides. One concern going into this tournament is the form of their key players. If this was played last summer, I think a lot of people would have had them as the top dark horses as Isak had just bagged 23 Premier League goals and earned a place in the PFA Team of the year, Gyökeres had banged in 39 league goals in Portugal, Elanga had fired Forest into Europe and Kulusevski and Bergvall had just won the Europa League. This season Isak has been injured for most of the season, Gyökeres has had a solid but not goal-heavy introduction into the Prem, Elanga has been a disaster at Newcastle, Bergvall has been part of a struggling Spurs side and Kulusevski is missing the tournament through injury. Can these key players re-find their form? The Manager: Graham Potter Potter did play in the Premier League for Southampton in his playing career but didn’t really make a name for himself until he joined fourth-tier Swedish side Östersunds. With them he won three promotions, the Swedish Cup and took them on their maiden Europe League campaign, reaching the knock-outs before an eventual defeat to AC Milan. This earned him a lot of interest at home and he eventually joined Swansea in the Championship before completely turning around the fortunes of Brighton. He introduced the flexible, attacking style they’ve kept to today. This led to a big-money move to Chelsea which only lasted seven months before spending the same length of time at West Ham. These last two roles have soured the opinions of him in the UK but he remains a national hero in Sweden. Especially after getting them this World Cup spot. Key Player: Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal) It feels crazy not to pick their £125 million striker Isak, especially after the quality he shown at Newcastle but he simply hasn’t been able to play enough football at Liverpool and there has to be serious doubts about how fit he really is. With him out injured, Gyökeres really stepped up in the play-offs bagging a hat-trick against Ukraine and the late winner against Poland. His season at Arsenal hasn’t been as free-scoring as I think many were expecting but he still has all the attributes you need to be a top international striker and I think his country will be relying on him massively next month. His 14-goal debut season in the Premier League is nothing to be sniffed at. It’s just that his Gerd Müller Trophy from last year still lives in the memory. Why they're actually going to win it: I don’t think anyone even expected them to be here after that dreadful qualifying campaign. If Potter can improve them that quickly to wint he Play-Offs, imagine what he can do with another 3-months in the role.

24. South Korea Group A AFC (2/9) World Ranking: 25 Best Result: Semi-Final (2002) Fixtures: Czech Republic (12th June, 3AM) Mexico (19th June, 2AM) South Africa (25th June, 2AM) South Korea are at their eleventh consecutive World Cup and are still chasing the highs of their run to the Semi-Final in their co-hosted 2002 tournament. They had provided us with massive drama in the final group game of their last two tournaments. In 2018, they scored twice in added time in an ultimately futile 2-0 win over Germany that did mean the European side finished bottom of a World Cup group for the first time with Korea ending third. And in 2022, they again scored in added time. This time to beat Portugal and book their place in the knockouts at Uruguay’s expense. They’re always a hard-working side but the question surrounding them is always whether they can create enough going forward. Questions are especially being raised after two defeats in their March friendlies: 4-0 against Ivory Coast and 1-0 against Austria. The Manager: Hong Myung-bo An icon of Asian football, Hong was the first player from the continent to play in four World Cups with his final tournament in 2002 seeing him earn the Bronze Ball; again making him the first Asian player to receive a World Cup award. A centre-back by trade, he spent the majority of his career in his native Korea but did make one international move, concluding his playing time with LA Galaxy. After retirement, he went straight into being the assistant manager to (recently reappointed Curaçao manager) Dick Advocaat with the Korean national side. He then worked his way up to the main job in 2014 by managing the under 20s and under 23 side. However, a winless World Cup saw his first spell as Korea manager come to a brief end. He’d earned another shot after leading Ulsan HD to consecutive league titles with efficient, if not spectacular, style of play. Key Player: Son Heung-min (Los Angeles) Just like with Salah yesterday, there’s no doubt who Korea’s poster-boy is. Son is probably the best Asian footballer of all-time. He’s the only Asian player to score 100+ goals in the Premier League, he has more Champions League goals than anyone else on the continent and has won the ‘Best Football in Asia’ award ten times, with 2016 and 2024 the only years he hasn’t won it since his first. His 10 years at Tottenham saw him become a Premier League legend and eventually the club captain, as well as seeing him win the Puskás Award for his goal against Burnley that saw him run the whole length of the pitch. He’s now made a tactic move to the US, getting used to the country where he will play in the Summer and has been showing great form. However, his last season with Tottenham was poor and he looked like he’d lost a yard of pace so it might just be the lower standard of the league that’s making him still look good. Why they're actually going to win it: They were the only unbeaten side in Asian qualifying and Son has been studying the land for a year already.

15th May 2026 - 17th May 2026 1. (02) Michael - £4,432,923 (-13%) Weeks: 4 (£40,515,865) 2. (01) The Devil Wears Prada 2 - £3,177,722 (-39%) Weeks: 3 (£27,295,316) 3. (03) The Sheep Detectives - £1,380,614 (-58%) Weeks: 2 (£5,454,156) 4. (NE) Obsession - £1,342,900 Weeks: 1 (£1,342,900) 5. (05) Mortal Kombat II - £603,111 (-62%) Weeks: 2 (£2,854,243) 6. (RE) Top Gun (40th Anniversary Re-Release) - £520,907 Weeks: 1 (£520,907) 7. (NE) The Christophers - £397,537 Weeks: 1 (£397,537) 8. (06) The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - £374,394 (-21%) Weeks: 7 (£37,348,348) 9. (RE) Shrek (25th Anniversary Re-Release) - £242,889 Weeks: 1 (£242,889) 10. (NE) Athiradi - £241,737 Weeks; 1 (£241,737) Falling out: Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour (1 week) Project Hail Mary (8 weeks) Hokum (2 weeks) Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition (1 week) The Magic Faraway Tree (7 weeks) For the third week in a row, the top 2 consists of the same films but it’s ‘Michael’ that overhauls the previous deficit to return to #1 for a second week after a miniscule 13% drop in week 4 sees it add another £4.4 million. With £40 million in the bank already, it has climbed to the top of the YTD chart and has already made enough that it would have been top 5 in 2025’s chart. How it deals with ‘Star Wars’ will be interesting as the £55 million of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is starting to look reachable. ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ holds well too (-39%) as it ends its two-week reign. With £27.3 million, it’s up to #4 in the YTD chart and would have been a top 10 film last year. The highest new entry this week is buzzy-horror hit ‘Obsession’ (£1,342,900, #4). This is only the third horror film to open above £1 million this year after legacy-sequel-fare ‘Scream VI’ and ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’. Written and directed by Curry Barker, this is the latest addition to the Youtuber to horror director pipeline which has been so prevalent of the past couple of years. Barker first found success as part of the duo ‘that’s a bad idea’ alongside Cooper Tomlinson. In 2024, their found footage debut ‘Milk & Serial’ was released on YouTube after they failed to get distribution and was incredibly well-received. This one has been received even-better and has already made $23 million worldwide against a $1 million budget after strong online hype. Barker is now already booked and busy with him signing a deal with Blumhouse for his third feature and with A24 to write a reboot of ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’. Also opening this week is ‘The Christophers’ (£397,537, #7). Coming from the most prolific director in the world, Steven Soderbergh, he was relatively quiet last year, only releasing two films with this opening between those two (‘Black Bag’, £915,377, #3 and ‘Prescence’, £365,390, #10). This was distributed by Picturehouse and is their best ever opening, just about beating ‘The Wife’ (£392,635, #7, 2018). This is a two-parter between Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel and is about an artist who is hired to steal and finish a series of paintings discarded by a historic artist. The pair have earned rave reviews and it feels like they could have had been involved in the awards conversation if this was released at a better time. The final new entry this week is ‘Athiradi’ (£241,737, #10). This in an Indian action-comedy about a student who tries to revive a festival only for it to be interrupted by a kidnapping. The poster looks a lot like the one Marvel released for ‘Thunderbolts*’ last year. But the entries don’t stop there. It was a particularly strong weekend for re-releases which saw the 40th anniversary release of ‘Top Gun’ debut at #6 (£520,907, £312k without previews) and the 25th anniversary release of ‘Shrek’ enter at #9 (£242,889). I know that previews for a 40-year-old film sounds mad. I also can’t believe that ‘Shrek’ was originally released so much closer in time to ‘Top Gun’ that it was to now! ‘The Sheep Detectives’ hold at #3 with a 58% drop that sounds much more impressive when you strip out the massive previews and it reduced to just 19%. Up to £5.4 million, it looks like it has a great shot at becoming another £10 million+ grosser for 2026. ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ might have had a large drop-off from the first film but it’s showing solid late-legs with a 21% drop in week 7. Like ‘Michael’ it has now also done enough that it would have ranked in the top 5 films of 2025. The final holdover is ‘Mortal Kombat II’ which sticks at #5 despite the 62% drop. With £2.9 million, it has outgrossed the 1995 original which is about a positive spin you can put on this film. There is only one further new entry in the #11-15 section: ‘Karuppu’ (#11). But we do also see another re-entry for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (#12). Next week sees the openings of ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian And Grogu’, ‘Tom And Jerry: Forbidden Compass’, ‘Finding Emily’, ‘Passenger’, ‘Charlie The Wonderdog’, ‘Hen’, ‘Eagles Of The Republic’, ‘The Balloonists’, ‘Chand Mera Dil’ and ‘Fight Like A Girl’. Can any of them top the charts? _ Summer Box Office Top 5: 1. (01) The Devil Wears Prada 2 - £27,295,316 2. (02) The Sheep Detectives - £5,454,156 3. (04) Mortal Kombat II - £2,854,243 4. (03) Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour - £1,994,117 5. (05) Hokum - £1,664,180 The same top 5 as last week but 'Mortal Kombat II' overtakes 'Billie Eilish'. 'Obsession' will be in next week and we'll see how high 'Star Wars' can debut.

17th May 2026 - 23rd May 2026 Combined DVD & Blu Ray 1. Wuthering Heights (2026) 2. It: Welcome To Derry: The Complete First Season (2025) 3. Cold Storage (2026) 4. (1) Shelter (2026) 5. Goat (2026) 6. The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026) 7. (5) 28 Years: The Bone Temple (2026) 8. (2) Send Help (2026) 9. Invaders From Mars (1953) 10. (3) Return To Silent Hill (2026) 11. (7) Wicked: For Good (2025) 12. Hammer: Heroes, Legends And Monsters (2024) 13. Red Beard (1965) 14. (9) Predator: Badlands (2025) 15. (8) Hamnet (2025) 16. (16) The Running Man (2025) 17. (13) Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) 18. Forbidden World (1982) 19. (32) Sisu: Road To Revenge (2025) 20. (RE) Edge Of Tomorrow (2014) 21. Mona Lisa (1986) 22. (18) Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) 23. (22) Song Sung Blue (2025) 24. (17) The Housemaid (2025) 25. The Marlow Murder Club: Series 3 (2026) 26. (14) Primate (2025) 27. (23) Sinners (2025) 28. (27) Wicked: 2-Film Collection (2024-2025) 29. (21) Anaconda (2025) 30. (25) F1: The Movie (2025) 31. (28) Zootropolis 2 (2025) 32. (24) Superman (2025) 33. (4) Beyond Paradise: Series Four (2026) 34. (RE) Mortal Kombat (2021) 35. (11) Whistle (2025) 36. (30) Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 (2025) 37. The Strangers: 3-Film Collection (2024-2026) 38. (20) 28 Years Later: 2-Movie Collection (2025-2026) 39. (35) Tron: Ares (2025) 40. Arcade (1993) 41. (31) Dune: Part Two (2024) 42. (19) Mercy (2026) 43. (40) The Choral (2025) 44. (37) A Minecraft Movie (2025) 45. (38) One Battle After Another (2025) 46. (29) Weapons (2025) 47. (RE) Top Gun: Maverick (2022) 48. (48) The Nice Guys (2016) 49. (55) The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) 50. (50) Nobody 2 (2025) 51. (54) The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants (2025) 52. (34) The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) 53. (43) Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022) 54. (RE) A Star Is Born (2018) 55. (39) Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (2025) 56. (26) Surrender (2025) 57. (42) Marty Supreme (2025) 58. (46) I Swear (2025) 59. (41) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season Three (2025) 60. (36) Paprika (2006) 61. Secret Service (2026) 62. (49) Mission Alarum (2025) 63. (64) Harry Potter: The Complete Collection (2001-2011) 64. (53) Zootropolis: 2-Movie Collection (2016-2025) 65. Watch The Skies (2022) 66. (RE) Sisu: 2-Movie Collection (2022-2025) 67. (78) Ghost In The Shell (1995) 68. (69) The Naked Gun (2025) 69. Rounders (1998) 70. (82) Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (2025) 71. (45) Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025) 72. (59) Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick (2025) 73. (61) Possession (1981) 74. (56) Dune (2021) 75. (68) How To Train Your Dragon (2025) 76. (44) Innerspace (1987) 77. (73) Practical Magic (1988) 78. (57) The Long Walk (2025) 79. (51) Alien: Romulus (2024) 80. (99) Nobody (2021) 81. (76) Dracula (2025) 82. (60) Interstellar (2014) 83. (RE) Minority Report (2002) 84. (RE) Now You See Me: 3 Film Collection (2013-2025) 85. (71) Giant (2025) 86. (58) H Is For Hawk (2025) 87. (RE) Gladiator II (2024) 88. (RE) 86 Eighty Six: The Complete Season (2021) 89. (RE) Moonwalker (1988) 90. (70) 28 Years Later (2025) 91. (72) Five Nights At Freddy’s: 2-Movie Collection (2023-2025) 92. (6) Point Blank (1967) 93. (77) Ready Or Not (2019) 94. (62) Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up (2024) 95. (52) Kingdom Of Heaven (2005) 96. (74) Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) 97. (66) Karate Kid: Legends (2025) 98. (RE) Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection (1975-1979) 99. (47) Ben-Hur (1959) 100. (89) Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 3 (2023) Falling Out: Doctor Blood’s Coffin (1961) Top Gun (1986) The Snake Woman (1961) The Protector (1985) Kangaroo (2025) Thunderbolts* (2025) Mission: Impossible: 2-Movie Collection (2023-2025) The Lord Of The Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (2001-2003) Schitt’s Creek: The Complete Collection (2015-2020) Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Die My Love (2025) Touch Me/Hypochondriac (2022-2025) Death In Paradise: Series Fifteen (2026) The Cure (2026) Call The Midwife: Series Fifteen & Christmas Special (2025-2026) Nosferatu (2024) Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (2024) Drive (2011) Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003) Pirates Of The Caribbean: 5 Movie Collection (2003-2017) Scanners (1981) The Killer (1989) Roofman (2025) Adopted (2024) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) DVD Wuthering Heights (2026) It: Welcome To Derry: The Complete First Season (2025) Cold Storage (2026) Shelter (2026) Goat (2026) The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026) 28 Years Later: Bone Temple (2026) Send Help (2026) Wicked: For Good (2025) Return To Silent Hill (2026) Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) Hamnet (2025) The Marlow Murder Club: Series 3 (2026) Predator: Badlands (2025) The Running Man (2025) Song Sung Blue (2025) Beyond Paradise: Series Four (2026) Anaconda (2025) Wicked: 2-Film Collection (2024-2025) Zootropolis 2 (2025) The Housemaid (2025) Primate (2025) Sisu: Road To Revenge (2025) Whistle (2025) Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 (2025) The Choral (2025) Mercy (2026) 28 Years Later: 2-Movie Collection (2025-2026) The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants (2025) Sinners (2025) Surrender (2025) Mission Alarum (2025) A Minecraft Movie (2025) Watch The Skies (2022) Zootropolis: 2-Movie Collection (2016-2025) F1: The Movie (2025) Superman (2025) Harry Potter: The Complete Collection (2001-2011) Nobody 2 (2025) I Swear (2025) Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (2025) Secret Service (2026) The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) The Strangers: 3-Film Collection (2024-2026) Five Nights At Freddy’s: 2-Movie Collection (2023-2025) Sisu: 2-Movie Collection (2022-2025) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season Three (2025) How To Train Your Dragon (2025) One Battle After Another (2025) Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022) Weapons (2025) Dune: Part Two (2024) Giant (2025) Practical Magic (1988) Call The Midwife: Series Fifteen & Christmas Special (2025-2026) Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection (1975-1979) The Naked Gun (2025) Schitt’s Creek: The Complete Collection (2015-2020) Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (2025) Tron: Ares (2025) Kangaroo (2025) Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up (2024) Marty Supreme (2025) Karate Kid: Legends (2025) Now You See Me: 3 Film Collection (2013-2025) Death In Paradise: Series Fifteen (2026) Paprika (2006) Michael Jackson Live At Wembley July 16, 1988 (2012) Nobody (2021) Top Gun: Maverick (2022) H Is For Hawk (2025) Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) Mortal Kombat (2021) The Cure (2026) We Bury The Dead (2024) Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick (2025) The Long Walk (2025) The History Of Sound (2025) Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025) Lilo & Stitch (2025) The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Roofman (2025) Gladiator II (2024) Predator: Wastelands (2025) 28 Years Later (2025) Moonwalker (1988) Adopted (2024) Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (2025) Dracula (2025) The Complete Open All Hours: Series One - Four (1976-1985) Ready Or Not (2019) Wicked (2024) The Roses (2025) The Last Of Us: The Complete Second Season (2025) Bottom 1-3 (1991-1995) Primitive War (2025) Flow (2024) Thunderbolts* (2025) Good Boy (2025) Blu Ray It: Welcome To Derry: The Complete First Season (2025) Cold Storage (2026) Invaders From Mars (1953) Wuthering Heights (2026) Hammer: Heroes, Legends And Monsters (2024) Red Beard (1965) Forbidden World (1982) Edge Of Tomorrow (2014) Mona Lisa (1986) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026) Send Help (2026) Shelter (2026) Return To Silent Hill (2026) Arcade (1993) Goat (2026) Predator: Badlands (2025) Mortal Kombat (2021) The Nice Guys (2016) A Star Is Born (2018) The Running Man (2025) Rounders (1998) Possession (1981) F1: The Movie (2025) Sinners (2025) The Strangers: 3-Film Collection (2024-2026) Tron: Ares (2025) Ghost In The Shell (1995) Superman (2025) Innerspace (1987) Dune: Part Two (2024) Minority Report (2002) Wicked: For Good (2025) Sisu: Road To Revenge (2025) Point Blank (1967) Top Gun: Maverick (2022) The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) Ben-Hur (1959) Kingdom Of Heaven (2005) Drive (2011) 86 Eighty Six: The Complete Season (2021) Blake’s 7: The Collection: Series 2 (1979) One Battle After Another (2025) Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (2003) Weapons (2025) Hamnet (2025) The Hitcher (1986) Dune (2021) Interstellar (2014) Doctor Blood’s Coffin (1961) Paprika (2006) Primate (2025) Top Gun (1986) Top Gun: 2-Movie Collection (1986-2022) Dogma (1999) Re-Animator (1985) Marty Supreme (2025) Alien: Romulus (2024) Heat (1995) Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025) Dog Soldiers (1999) The Lord Of The Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (2001-2003) Ballerina: From The World Of John Wick (2025) The Fifth Element (1997) The Housemaid (2025) Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022) Excalibur (1981) The Snake Woman (1961) Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 3 (2023) Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Scanners (1981) Aliens (1986) The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) The Big City (1963) Soldier (1998) The Thing (1982) Mission: Impossible: 2-Movie Collection (2023-2025)Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season Three (2025) Dracula (2025) Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Blade Runner (1982) The Terminator (1984) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Late Night With The Devil (2023) Suzume (2022) Boogie Nights (1997) Hard Boiled (1992) The Batman (2022) Species (1995) The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970) 28 Years Later: 2-Movie Collection (2025-2026) Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) Ready Or Not (2019) The Long Walk (2025) Alien (1979) Moonwalker (1988) 28 Years Later (2025) Bring Her Back (2025) Gladiator II (2024)

25. Egypt Group G CAF (4/10) World Ranking: 29 Best Result: Last 16 (1934) Fixtures: Belgium (15th June, 8PM) New Zealand (22nd June, 2AM) Iran (27th June, 4AM) The traditional giants of Africa, Egypt have 7 AFCON titles in their trophy cabinet but have only ever made three World Cups and while their best result section above may say ‘Last 16’, there was only 16 teams involved in the 1934 World Cup. Yet to win a game on the biggest stage, their 2018 campaign was famously hit by an injury Salah received in that year’s Champions League final which meant that he looked like a shell of himself during the actual tournament. He did manage to score in their final game, a 2-1 defeat by a Saudi Arabia side who had lost 5-0 in the opening game against hosts Russia. They will expect to put that to right this year but there’s similar questions around Salah going into it again. One thing you can always say about Egypt though is that they know how to defend. Expect them to try to frustrate Belgium and Iran and try to hit on the counter. The Manager: Hossam Hassan The man who was considered Egypt’s greatest until Salah, Hassan remains the country top-ever goalscorer with 69 goals in 177 caps. He had two years in Europe with PAOK of Greece and Neuchâtel Xamax of Switzerland in the middle of 16-years with Al Ahly where he won 11 league titles. In his time in Switzerland, he made headlines in the UK for scoring 4-goals in a UEFA Cup match versus Celtic. Playing well into his 40s, he then also played for another 5 Egyptian sides adding more league titles to his collection. To show how epic his international playing career was, he won his first AFCON title with Egypt in 1986 and his third title twenty-years later in 2006. As a manager, he’s taken charge of numerous Egyptian sides but his only other international experience was with Jordan in 2013-2014 where he took them to the Intercontinental Play-Offs for the World Cup before a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Uruguay. Key Player: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) Who else? Salah is probably the best African footballer of all-time and will be devastated at how his World Cup career has gone (or more accurately not gone) so far. At 33, this is likely his last shot and, had this tournament been last year, everyone would have him as a potential Player of the Tournament. However, this season has been the most difficult of his Liverpool career with him being dropped for a fallout with the manager and his struggle to find form when he has been on the pitch. With 193 Premier League goals in his back-pocket, the most of any non-English player, you just can’t rule him out doing some spectacular this summer. If he can get 3-goals, he overtakes his manager to be Egypt’s top-ever goalscorer. Why they're actually going to win it: Their AFCON history shows that they’re very capable of turning up for big tournaments and they owe themselves a good run after their dismal history in the competition.

26. Algeria Group J CAF (5/10) World Ranking: 28 Best Result: Last-16 (2014) Fixtures: Algeria (17th June, 2AM) Jordan (23rd June, 4AM) Austria (28th June, 3AM) Algeria have missed out on two World Cups in a row since they reached the knock-outs for the only time 2014. Going into that tournament, Riyad Mahrez only had two caps for the country, since then he’s won the league title with Leicester, won four more at Man City as well as a Champions League and captained Algeria to an AFCON victory in 2019. They have constantly had one of the stronger sides in Africa so missing out on both World Cups of Mahrez’s prime will be a massive disappointment. At the recent AFCON, they showed their strength in the groups stage but were toothless in the Quarter-Final against Nigeria, not even managing a shot-on-target in the whole 90. They will be desperate to put that right this summer. The Manager: Vladimir Petković The Switzerland manager for seven-years, Petković oversaw the them become one of the most-consistent countries in world football, overperforming their reputation to reach the knock-outs of all four tournaments he led. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Petković had a distinguished playing career in Yugoslavia and Switzerland before managing Lazio and Bordeaux at club level. His spell as Switzerland boss has proved him to be a very reliable coach who knows how to get the best out of his players. Key Player: Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli) He might be 35-now and playing in the Saudi league but Mahrez is still a vital part of this Algerian side. He proved this at the recent AFCON where he scored within 2-minutes in their opening match. He might not have the same pace anymore but his left-foot is still a huge asset and is still capable of firing them in from anywhere if defenders let him cut inside. Why they're actually going to win it: They were the team that were eliminated after the Disgrace of Gijón where Germany ‘beat’ Austria 1-0 so both teams safely qualified and a re-match against Austria should be spicy.

27. Austria Group J UEFA (13/16) World Ranking: 24 Best Result: Third-Place (1954) Fixtures: Jordan (17th June, 5AM) Argentina (22nd June, 6PM) Algeria (28th June, 3AM) Qualifying for their first time since 1998, Austria were a Pot 1 side in qualifying and took full advantage by securing their place with a 1-1 draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina in their final match. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing with a defeat against Romania making it nervy. Their one of the more interesting teams to watch at the moment. They try to play on the front foot and, when it’s working, it’s spectacular. In Euro 2024, they topped their group after impressively beating Poland and Netherlands and became everyone’s underdogs for the tournament. However, they were then beaten comfortably by Turkey in the Last 16. Inconsistency is why I can’t rank them any higher but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them have some great games. The Manager: Ralf Rangnick He had a very unnotable playing career which included a spell in non-league English football with Southwick but Rangnick has since become one of the most distinguished football coaches of the 21st century. He’s been in roles since 1983 but it wasn’t until 1999 when he joined Stuttgart and had a spell of German jobs that he really made his name (Hannover, Schalke, Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig). He had two spells at Leipzig as well as being director of football at Red Bull and was a key proponent of the influential Red Bull gegenpressing way of playing. He’s well loved in Austria for turning their fortunes around and changing them from a pragmatic side to an exciting watch and earned extra credit by turning down an approach from Bayern Munich a couple of years ago. But what he will ultimately be remembered for in the UK is his infamous interim role as Manchester United manager where he clashed with the board and fans and didn’t pick up many positive results. Key Player: Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund) David Alaba is the best Austrian player but hasn’t had a consistent spell of being fully fit for years and I’m not confident he will end up playing much at the tournament. Sabitzer is also the wrong side of 30 and isn’t currently having the best season of his career at Dortmund but he always performs for the national side and is probably their most naturally gifted player. Capable of playing anywhere across the midfield or attack, his best work has come as an attacking midfielder where his shooting ability and tiki taka passes can create chances out of nothing. Being an RB Leipzig legend, he also has a lot of experience playing for the manager. Why they're actually going to win it: When they’re fully on it and Ragnick’s tactics are working, they can dismantle anyone so if they turn up at the right times, they could just do it.

Aston Villa 2-1 Liverpool Man Utd 2-1 Nottingham Forest Brentford 1-0 Crystal Palace Everton 2-0 Sunderland Leeds 0-2 Brighton Wolves 1-1 Fulham Newcastle 2-2 West Ham Arsenal 3-1 Burnley Bournemouth 2-3 Man City Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham

(30-37-47-64-83-101) Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby - Levitating (41-57-69-87-102) Camila Cabello - Don’t Go Yet (NE) Hilary Duff - Mature (52-73-104) Noa Kirel - Unicorn (49-66-85-105) Pharrell Williams, 21 Savage & Tyler, The Creator - Cash In Cash Out (90-106) Freddie Gibbs - It’s Your Anniversary (x- 48-65-88-107) Madison Beer - Homesick (56-73-89-108) Stormzy - Mel Made Me Do It (86-71-91-109) Rebecca Black - Crumbs (94-110) Perrie - You Go Your Way ~ (42-62-86-96-111) Kacey Musgraves - breadwinner (99-112) Olivia Rodrigo - obsessed (113-113) Charli XCX - Von dutch (77-93-114) Ayra Starr - Rush (NE) JID, Ciara & EARTHGANG - Sk8 (20-33-52-76-95-116) Halsey - You should be sad (97-117) Ashe - Running Out Of Time (98-118) ¥$ feat. Freddie Gibbs - BACK TO ME (95-101-119) Maisie Peters - Wendy (90-106-120) Tate McRae - exes ~ (17-30-51-75-100-121) Selena Gomez - Rare (NE) Alessi Rose - imsochillandcool (104-123) Dua Lipa - Training Season (94-117-124) Olivia Rodrigo - vampire (11-26-43-78-102-125) Megan Thee Stallion & Normani - Diamonds Three songs from 2025 make their debuts in this section, coming from Alessi Rose, JID/EARTHGANG/Ciara & Hilary Duff. From the Birds Of Prey soundtrack, Diamonds really nails the tone of the film. Normani does her thing with the ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’ sample (and recreation of the movie scene). Megan’s verses have good energy and attitude but are probably not her best on a technical level. A #1 hit in my chart in Jan 2020, this feels like it's already 6-years old. I remember being really intrigued to see what sounds Olivia would comeback with after the huge success of her debut. Would it be a ballad or pop-punk? In the end she found a theatrical in-between with vampire that starts off like a piano ballad but quickly evolves into something more unique and chaotic. Such a cool song that solidified her as an absolute top-tier artist. Training Season might feel a tad safe without the heavier dance interlude that ‘Houdini’ had but itis incredibly polished and has more than enough to get you grooving. The synths hit hard without being too overpowering and her vocals are particularly strong in the chorus. Rare was one of the first smash hits of the decade in my chart but, unlike Diamonds, this still feels really fresh. Selena doesn’t have the strongest vocals so she sounds best when the production feels like it was made specifically for her and this certainly does. It’s dreamy but fairly understated and allows her to have a punchy delivery that feels heavier than it is. While her newest album is such a step up in quality from her earlier, the singles can’t compare to Tate's previous era. On exes, Tate fully embraces the 00s pop sound with a sexy, unapologetic, choreography-led banger. Apparently written in just 30-minutes, it shows that sometimes just not overthinking things can lead to gold. Taylor released a similar song song in the same year but I know which ‘Peter Pan’ inspired ballad from a blonde-haired pop girlie I prefer and it's Wendy. My top-rated album track from (the standard version of) The Good Witch, the lyrics here really linger with you and its one of my favourite songs to hear live from her. It was a maligned album but there’s one song from 'Vultures 1' that really connected with me, BACK TO ME. The sample of a line of dialogue from ‘Dogma’ will really annoy most and Kanye’s inexplicable repetition of said phrase is objectively awful but it’s so stupid that it works for me. Freddie Gibbs is the secret sauce of the track though. He makes the phrase somehow sound cool and his verse is like butter. It was meant to feature Quavo originally but I can’t imagine enjoying this without Freddie star-making performance. It ended up being Freddie's first Billboard Hot 100 entry. Running Out Of Time is such a summery track, it feels like the sun should be shining every time it’s on. I’m not sure I’m ready to embrace morality as well as Ashe has here lol. love the little guitar lick in here. It’s a little touch that helps elevate this from a good song to a great song. You should be sad was one of the earliest signs of country resurgence in the UK charts, and is easily the best song Halsey’s ever made. The country twang elevates the song and gives it its addictive edge. It makes savage lines like ‘I’m so glad I never ever had a baby with you’ stupidly danceable which is a huge achievement in itself. It’s the same vibe as 'Not Like Us' making calling Drake a p***o into a club banger. Rush is my favourite afrobeats crossover of modern times and was my go-to song to put me in a good mood for a while. The beat is infectious; you can’t help but sway when it’s on. Ayra shines like a star in what should have been career-kickstarting performance. Her vocals are lovely (there’s one little adblib/run that I really love) and she had so much confidence for someone so young. Von dutch is a non-mover year-on-year and I’m loving it more now than I did when it was first released. The embodiment of BRAT, this was the perfect way to introduce the world-dominating era. It sounds generic at first but upon relistens, you really start to hear its genius. I think there’s a chance that this eventually becomes THE Charli song for me. The best rock star of her times. I love when Olivia leans more into the pop-punk vibes and her delivery in obsessed is perfect. I appreciate the self-deprecation and think this really nails a playful tone whichwas a breath of fresh air for the deluxe after the serious songs that close the regular edition of the album. 'star-crossed' remains a criminally underappreciated album. breadwinner was (until this year) Kacey's only #1 in my chart and it was all due to how impossibly catchy I found its chorus. It has quite understated production but still manages to feel quite groovy. I love how light and unbothered Kacey’s vocals are. It really makes her sound so cool and more of a boss like the lyrics lay-out. You Go Your Way is my favourite Little Mix solo track so far. I was really disappointed to see this fall flat on release. It feels like something the group would have released with it's very danceable sound and singalong hook. The really impressive one-take video where Perrie had to learn full choreography shows how much she really pushed for this and it deserved so much more. The moment where I started taking Rebecca seriously. Crumbs is obviously very inspired by the hyperpop sound that was matured in the years before and I think it’s a sound she was born to make. I love the industrial beats before the final chorus particularly. Mel Made Me Do It was the biggest tease an artist has released for a long time. Stormzy came back with his relentless 7:21 rap assault where he seemed determined to remind everyone just how clean he is when it comes to rapping, just to then drop an experimental R&B album where he hardly raps once. The video’s full of cameos galore and Stormzy’s frequent masterful flow changes make it feel like it goes by in a flash. Taking the concept of feeling alienated to very literal lengths, Homesick became such an important song to me after the first time I saw Madison live. As part of the ‘Life Support’ tour, she performed this on a swing which just so happened to be right in front of where I was standing for my show and it connected with me so much. I'm so sad this looks like its left of the setlist for the current tour as I would kill to experience it live again. It’s Your Anniversary is maybe the only song I’ve downloaded in the 2020s. It was removed from streaming services (as Gibbs never cleared the sample) but was still available to buy from his store. It’s a devilish track where he flips the original sample to be about a grieving mother of a rapper that Gibbs has ‘killed’. His harmonising with his out-of-tune vocals is perfect. It feels so nonchalant and makes the diss land even harder. Cash In Cash Out has the single most creative music video of the 2020s and doesn’t half have a decent song to accompany it. A couple of years later and they would have made it poorly with AI which would have been so sad. It has the distinctive Pharrell production but he lets 21 and Tyler do the heavy lifting with the vocals and they don’t disappoint. I quite enjoy the disparate styles of the two MCs clashing together. The hook could be stronger but it’s certainly memorable through its repetitiveness and everything else being so well thought through well makes up for any shortcomings there. This is the first time I’ve listed to Unicorn in about 2-years and yeah, I still find it (as a song) to be so fun and a massive banger. It’s the only song that comes close to Eleni Foureira's 'Fuego' to be my favourite Eurovision song. But the way this song (and all of her countries entries) are used as propaganda pieces is very uncomfortable and puts a huge shadow over my enjoyment of this song. I’m not even bothering watching the show this year which is disappointing. I really enjoy it when Camila embraces her Latin roots in her music, especially when the vibes are as positive and upbeat as in Don't Go Yet. It just makes you feel good and I cannot help but sing along with the chorus. This deserved to be one of her biggest hits The ‘future nostalgia’ tag is already proving to be very accurate as Levitating already brings upon such a strong feeling of a different time. It was already a very retro-inspired song but she added enough newer sounds the funk it contains will never get old. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to the DaBaby remix but I think it still holds up.

28. Ghana Group L CAF (6/10) World Ranking: 74 Best Result: Quater-Finals (2010) Fixtures: Panama (18th June, 12AM) England (23rd June, 9PM) Croatia (27th June, 10PM) Certainly the team I have overperforming their World Ranking in this countdown, Ghana have the World Cup history other African nations can only look at with envy but have been a disaster ever since Luis Suárez handballed in South Africa 2010. They were comfortably ranked in the top 20 in the world then but have now spent 2-years in the 70s. With four AFCON titles, only Egypt and Cameroon have won it more but they faced the ignominy of not even qualifying for the most recent tournament, after two consecutive group-stage exits. This is despite, on paper, having the best front-three in Africa. Senegal are probably the only other country that could name a front-three anywhere near as strong as Mohammed Kudus, Iñaki Williams and Antoine Semenyo and still have options such as Jordan Ayew, Abdul Fatawu, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Kamaldeen Sulemana as back-ups. Their results have been awful of late but they’ve recently hired a manager who has some experience at this level... The Manager: Carlos Queiroz If you were worried after reading my Iran post that you wouldn’t get your Queiroz fix at this World Cup then worry not as less than a month ago, Ghana confirmed that he’ll be taking charge of their side. An international football manager veteran, he first took charge of his native Portugal in 1991 when they were not a top side and had spells with Sporting Lisbon, NY/NJ MetroStars, Nagoya Grampus Eight and the UAE before he took charge of South Africa and helped them qualify for the 2002 World Cup before resigning before the tournament kicked-off. It wasn’t joining Manchester United as assistant manager in 2002 where he really made his name. He stayed there until 2008, aside from one season as Real Madrid manager which didn’t go well, winning trophy galore and earning a second-spell as Portugal manager. They struggled in qualifying for 2010, eventually winning a play-off and reaching the Last-16 in the tournament. He then had his first spell at Iran, reaching two World Cups and only missing out on the knock-outs in 2018 after Spain scored an injury-time equalizer against Morocco in their last-group game. He has since had unsuccessful stints at Colombia, Egypt, Qatar and Oman the other sides of his return with Iran in 2022. Key Player: Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City) Born in Chelsea, Semenyo committed to Ghana in 2022 and made two substitute appearances at that year’s World Cup. In the time since, he has become one of the most coveted players in the Premier League after joining Bournemouth in 2023. His six-goals in the opening seven-games this season eventually led to his big-money move to Man City in January that has already resulted in his first trophy, the Carabao Cup in March. A dynamic winger which great skill and ball-control, he’s really added goals to his strengths in recent years and with Kudos being injured for most of the season, a lot of Ghanian hopes will be directed squarely at him. Why they're actually going to win it: It was only a Luis Suárez that stopped them becoming the first African side to reach the Semi-Finals of the World Cup and they now feel very overdue a bit of luck at the World Cup.

29. Canada Group B CONCACAF (3/6) World Ranking: 30 Best Result: Group Stage (1986, 2022) Fixtures: Bosnia & Herzegovina (12th June, 8PM) Qatar (18th June, 11PM) Switzerland (24th June, 8PM) The first of the three hosts to drop out, Canada have lost all six of their World Cup games so far but look very likely to make some history this time around. Despite surprising everyone by winning the CONCACAF qualifying group in 2022 and playing brilliantly against Belgium in their first game, they underwhelmed in Qatar but have been steadily improving since and now will be thinking about qualifying for the knock-outs on home soil, not just hoping to win a game like before. They were ranked as low as 120 in the world less than 10-years ago but have started taking it much more seriously, boosted by Canadian teams playing in the MLS for 20-years now (Toronto FC were the first in 2007) and a golden generation of talent that have travelled to top European teams (Alfonso Davies, Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan). The Manager: Jesse March Seen as a bit of a Ted Lasso in the UK due to his time at Leeds United replacing club-legend Marcelo Bielsa being while the Apple TV+ show was at its peak, he did manage to keep them up in 2022 before being sacked the following season. A student of the Red Bull philosophy, after a short spell with Montreal Impact, his next three managerial jobs were at New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzberg and RB Leipzig. His best spell was certainly at Salzberg where he won back-to-back league and cup doubles. He was at one time being lined-up to be the manager of his native-side, USA after Gregg Berhalter left in 2022, but after they rehired Berhalter, Marsch has been very critical of their national associated and joined neighbours Canada. In his first 6-weeks in the job, he took the side to 2024 Copa America where they impressed, reaching the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions Argentina. He’s made Canada a more tactically astute side and will look to implement Red Bull’s famous high intensity, high press system. Key Player: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) Currently injured with a month to go before the World Cup, he has spent more time in the medical room than most which has plagued him since the last World Cup. And as of this week, he’s suffered another injury that is putting his participation in doubt. But, he is still only 25 and, despite some long lay-offs, has already achieved more in his career than all other Canadian players combined. He’s the only Canadian to win the Champions League (which he did as a teenager in 2020) and has seven Bundesliga medals in his back-pocket. A real contender for the best current North American footballer, if not of all-time. Why they're actually going to win it: They’re the host nation with the most momentum going into this tournament and have their best-ever side. Whether Trump would actually hand over the trophy though, that’s a different story.

1. Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (1-2-2-1) 2. Maisie Peters & Julia Michaels - Kingmaker (1-3-2) 3. Kim Petras - Need For Speed (3-1-3) 4. Maisie Peters - My Regards (1-1-1-2-1-2-2-1-1-1-2-4-4-4) 5. Kacey Musgraves - I Believe In Ghosts (5-5) 6. Kacey Musgraves - Mexico Honey (6-6) 7. Zara Larsson, Madison Beer & BAMBII - The Ambition (13-7) 8. Kacey Musgraves - Abilene (8-8) 9. Kacey Musgraves - Back On The Wagon (9-9) 10. Ella Langley - Be Her (7-7-10) 11. Madison Beer - somehow i got lucky (11) 12. Charli xcx - Rock Music (12) 13. Kylie Cantrall - Carrie Bradshaw (3-3-6-10-13) 14. Madison Beer - lovergirl (14) 15. Laufey - Madwoman (4-5-5-11-15) 16. Madison Beer - free (16) 17. Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell (1-1-2-2-2-4-8-12-17) 18. Kim Petras - Jeep (18) 19. Anyma & LISA - Bad Angel (11-7-9-14-19) 20. Janet Devlin - Working For The Man (14-8-11-15-20) Falling Out This Week Are: Kacey Musgraves - Loneliest Girl (16) Bebe Rexha - Hysteria (9-10-12-17) AJ Tracey - Quaresma (18) Hilary Duff - Come Clean (Mine) (6-6-10-19) YUNA - Ice Cream (3-3-5-9-13-20) Retro Top 10 1. ROSÉ - Messy (1) 2. Hailee Steinfeld - Dangerous (3-1-1-2) 3. Kylie Cantrall - Denim (11-4-6-3) 4. Stormzy - SORRY RACH! (4) 5. Ariana Grande - dandelion (2-1-1-2-2-2-5) 6. Ariana Grande - twilight zone (1-2-2-1-3-3-6) 7. Kylie Cantrall - Goodie Bag (20-(x10)-7) 8. Kylie Cantrall feat. ILLIT - See U Tonight (8) 9. Dove Cameron - French Girls (5-9) 10. Lorde - What Was That (5-4-10) Album of the Week 2026: 7th January 2026: Laufey - A Matter of Time 14th January 2026: Laufey - A Matter of Time 21st January 2026: Madison Beer - locket 28th January 2026: Madison Beer - locket 4th February 2026: Madison Beer - locket 11th February 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 18th February 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 25th February 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 4th March 2026: BLACKPINK - DEADLINE (EP) 11th March 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 18th March 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 25th March 2026: J. Cole - The Fall-Off 1st April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 8th April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 15th April 2026: Laufey - A Matter of Time 22nd April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 29th April 2026: Megan Moroney - Cloud 9 6th May 2026: Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere 13th May 2026: Kacey Musgraves - Middle of Nowhere This Week's Number One Highest New Entry

1. Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (1-2-2-1) 2. Maisie Peters & Julia Michaels - Kingmaker (1-3-2) 3. Kim Petras - Need For Speed (3-1-3) 4. Maisie Peters - My Regards (1-1-1-2-1-2-2-1-1-1-2-4-4-4) 5. Kacey Musgraves - I Believe In Ghosts (5-5) 6. Kacey Musgraves - Mexico Honey (6-6) 7. Zara Larsson, Madison Beer & BAMBII - The Ambition (13-7) 8. Kacey Musgraves - Abilene (8-8) 9. Kacey Musgraves - Back On The Wagon (9-9) 10. Ella Langley - Be Her (7-7-10) 11. Madison Beer - somehow i got lucky (11) 12. Charli xcx - Rock Music (12) 13. Kylie Cantrall - Carrie Bradshaw (3-3-6-10-13) 14. Madison Beer - lovergirl (14) 15. Laufey - Madwoman (4-5-5-11-15) 16. Madison Beer - free (16) 17. Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell (1-1-2-2-2-4-8-12-17) 18. Kim Petras - Jeep (18) 19. Anyma & LISA - Bad Angel (11-7-9-14-19) 20. Janet Devlin - Working For The Man (14-8-11-15-20)

1. Olivia Rodrigo - drop dead (1-2-2-1) 2. Maisie Peters & Julia Michaels - Kingmaker (1-3-2) 3. Kim Petras - Need For Speed (3-1-3) 4. Maisie Peters - My Regards (1-1-1-2-1-2-2-1-1-1-2-4-4-4) 5. Kacey Musgraves - I Believe In Ghosts (5-5) 6. Kacey Musgraves - Mexico Honey (6-6) 7. Zara Larsson, Madison Beer & BAMBII - The Ambition (13-7) 8. Kacey Musgraves - Abilene (8-8) 9. Kacey Musgraves - Back On The Wagon (9-9) 10. Ella Langley - Be Her (7-7-10) 11. Madison Beer - somehow i got lucky (11) 12. Charli xcx - Rock Music (12) 13. Kylie Cantrall - Carrie Bradshaw (3-3-6-10-13) 14. Madison Beer - lovergirl (14) 15. Laufey - Madwoman (4-5-5-11-15) 16. Madison Beer - free (16) 17. Kacey Musgraves - Dry Spell (1-1-2-2-2-4-8-12-17) 18. Kim Petras - Jeep (18) 19. Anyma & LISA - Bad Angel (11-7-9-14-19) 20. Janet Devlin - Working For The Man (14-8-11-15-20)

8th May 2026 - 10th May 2026 1. (01) The Devil Wears Prada 2 - £5,203,067 (-44%) Weeks: 2 (£21,121,432) 2. (02) Michael - £5,083,005 (-28%) Weeks: 3 (£33,479,568) 3. (NE) The Sheep Detectives - £3,319,496 Weeks: 1 (£3,319,496) 4. (NE) Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour - £1,782,931 Weeks: 1 (£1,782,931) 5. (NE) Mortal Kombat II - £1,607,520 Weeks: 1 (£1,607,520) 6. (03) The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - £475,202 (-51%) Weeks: 6 (£36,893,858) 7. (05) Project Hail Mary - £288,262 (-51%) Weeks: 8 (£33,779,097) 8. (04) Hokum - £278,150 (-56%) Weeks: 2 (£1,373,779) 9. (NE) Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition - £207,489 Weeks: 1 (£207,489) 10. (07) The Magic Faraway Tree - £121,169 (-55%) Weeks: 7 (£14,663,582) Falling out: Patriots (1 week) The Drama (5 weeks) Lee Cronin's The Mummy (3 weeks) Eugene Onegin: Met Opera 2026 (1 week) Sorry, I was a concert last night so didn’t get the chance to post but it’s been a great start to Summer 2026 with five films all making £1 million+. Eventually the battle became between the same top 2 as last weekend and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ ends up holding on for a second weekend atop the chart after a 44% drop. It has already passed £20 million which puts it above the first films (£14 million) and also ahead of ‘Marley And Me’ (£15.4 million) which was director David Frankel’s previous biggest hit. It’s up to #4 in the YTD chart. However, hot on its heels is ‘Michael’ which drops 28% and was about £150k off from returning to #1. ‘Elvis’ has now been overtaken and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ remains as the only music biopic to gross more. ‘Michael’ currently ranks at #3 in the YTD chart but should climb to #1 by next week. Amazon (and Sony) have got their second big hit of the year with ‘The Sheep Detectives’ the highest new entry at #3 (£3,319,496, £1.7 million without previews). Adapted from a 2005 novel (‘Three Bags Full’), this sounded like a weird prospect; a film about a bunch of talking sheep who try to solve the mystery of their shepherd’s murder from the most eclectic writer in the business, Craig Mazin (‘Scary Movie 3’, ‘The Hangover Part II’, ‘Chernobyl’, ‘The Last Of Us’) and directed by the man who has brought us three Minions adventures, Kyle Balda. But it’s has earned great reviews and has had a very strong start to its UK box office run. There’s a good chance this could be another £10 million+ grosser for the year. Not having as impressive of a debut is ‘Mortal Kombat II’ (£1,607,520, £1.5 million without previews). This is a large improvement on the 2021 this is a sequel to, ‘Mortal Kombat’ (£319,313, #6) which only made £600k in total but that film was only released after cinemas first re-opened and had already been available to watch at home on Premium Video on Demand (PVOD). Over the past few years, when a film does well in America but poorly worldwide, we’re usually the market that aligns with America and it does well over here too but that’s not the case with this as it had a good American opening ($38.5 million) but we’ve aligned with the rest of the world that’s shown little interest. This is despite it being given the majority of the premium screens across the UK this week where films are able to make big money when they hit. The top grossing film based on the video-game franchise is 1995’s ‘Mortal Kombat’ with £2 million so at least it will beat that. The other two new entries are both music related with ‘Billie Eilish: Hot Me Hard And Soft: The Tour’ doing the better (£1,782,931, £1.4 million without previews, #4) and even finishing above ‘Mortal Kombat II’ thanks to previews. If you didn’t know this was co-directed by Billie and James Cameron, making it his first non-Avatar film since ‘Titanic’ in 1997. Cameron is a pioneer of the 3D-trend and most of this films box office comes from 3D showings. While this isn’t an ‘Eras Tour’ opening, it is above the other big concert release of recent times, “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé” (£1,082,080, #4, 2023). Music documentary “Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition” (£207,489, £98k without previews) also debuts in the top 10 at #9. ‘Hokum’ has a 56% drop in weekend two and ends the weekend on £1.4 million which ranks as the 6th biggest horror of the year so far. The final three holdovers all have similar holds: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ (-51%), ‘Project Hail Mary’ (-51%) and ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ (-55%). There are three further new entries in the #11-15 section: ‘Kokuho’ (#12), ‘Our Land’ (#13) and ‘’Romeria’ (#15). Next week sees the openings of ‘The Christophers’, ‘Normal’, ‘Obsession’, ‘Northern Soul: Still Burning’, ‘Orphan’ and ‘Ciao UFO’. We also see re-releases of ‘Shrek’, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Space Jam’, ‘Top Gun’, ‘Cronos’ and ‘Wake In Flight’. Can any of them top the charts? _ Summer Box Office Top 5: 1. (01) The Devil Wears Prada 2 - £21,121,431 2. (NE) The Sheep Detectives - £3,319,416 3. (NE) Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour - £1,782,931 4. (NE) Mortal Kombat II - £1,607,520 5. (02) Hokum - £1,373,779

30. Paraguay Group D CONMEBOL (6/6) World Ranking: 40 Best Result: Quarter-Finals (2010) Fixtures: USA (13th June, 2AM) Turkey (20th June, 4AM) Paraguay (26th June, 3AM) After achieving their best-ever World Cup run in 2010, Paraguay have suffered three straight unsuccessful qualifying campaigns (like Italy lol) but they’re finally back on the big stage and ready to impress. Despite finishing if the sixth-and-final-qualifying-spot, it was much more comfortable than it sounds. They were only one-point behind 2nd place and eight-points above Bolivia in the Play-Off place. With only five-points from their first seven games, it was some turnaround with wins against Brazil and Argentina the highlights. They have a great defensive record and I expect them to frustrate the other teams in the group. There’s no need for them to worry about 2030, they’ve already qualified and will play their opening game at home. The Manager: Gustavo Alfaro The Argentinian manager is no stranger to the World Cup; he was in charge of Ecuador at the last tournament and oversaw their 2-0 win against Qatar on the opening day. After leaving them, he had a 9-month stint as Costa Rica manager but resigned to take charge of Paraguay. With him turning Paraguay’s fortunes around while Costa Rica missed out on qualifying, coincidently for the first time since 2010, I bet they wish he’d stayed. Paraguay picked up 24-points in 12 games in qualifying after he joined and conceded the second-least number of goals so he’s got them playing incredibly consistently and made them very hard-to-beat. Key Player: Julio Enciso (Strasbourg) Signed by Strasbourg last summer, I think it’s safe to say we can consider him a Chelsea player if he continues to develop well. Still only 22, it already feels like ages since he burst onto the scene with Brighton, scoring the goal of the season in 2022/23 with his dramatic equaliser against Man City. However, he’s had some bad injury issues since then a disappointing loan spell at Ipswich last season killed his momentum. But anyone who’s seen him play, knows that he has a vicious right-foot and isn’t afraid to shoot from any distance. He’s a maverick but could be the little bit of genius Paraguay need this year. Why they're actually going to win it: They’ve got great balance in their side and look very difficult to beat. They have a decent group where they can really frustrate the other teams