Football fiesta or burst ball?

Football fans across Monklands are gearing up for the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup which kicks- off in Russia tomorrow night.

Thirty- two teams – sadly not including Scotland – will compete for the top prize in international football.

Prediction lists and wall charts will be at the ready in Airdrie and Coatbridge as a total of 64 matches are played in 12 venues across 11 cities.

The final will take place on July 15 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, when fans of the beautiful game discover whose name follows holders Germany on the famous golden trophy.

With football fever very much in the air in the build- up to tomorrow’s big kick-off, the Advertiser asked Coatbridge shoppers if they will be tuned in to the action.

Or whether the prospect of a month of televised football is enough to make them hop on a plane to a remote island for the tournament’s duration.

Peter Smith, who lives in Whifflet, can’t wait for the on-field action: “I will definitely be watching; I’m a big football fan.”

But William Forwell added that he was “more of a rugby fan”.

Team to beat? Germany are the holders following their success in 2014