Kochi: "I can't support Brazil because Serbia is drawn in the same group. Even our first match in Qatar 2022 is against them," Kerala Blasters' head coach Ivan Vukomanovic made clear his loyalty to his home country at the launch of Kickoff, Malayala Manorama's FIFA World Cup special magazine.
Young defender Bijoy Varghese, who received the first copy from Vukomanovic at a function held here on Monday, was confident of Portugal winning the World Cup.
"Portugal will make history at Qatar 2022," he said holding a copy of Kickoff with his favourite player Christiano Ronaldo on the cover page.
Kickoff will hit the stands with three different covers featuring star players Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, and Neymar. One of the main attractions of the magazine is the World Cup predictions made by renowned writer and football analyst N S Madhavan.
The magazine, which contains a detailed assessment of all the 32 teams in the fray at Qatar 2022, also features an interview with Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, and former Indian captain I M Vijayan's World Cup viewing experiences. The 76-page Kickoff is priced at Rs 40. A fixture wall chart is given free with the magazine. For copies, contact Malayala Manorama agents or the nearest Manorama unit office.