Football is one of the most popular sports in the world, and the World Cup is the pinnacle of the game.
Football itself has a wonderful array of language and hundreds of common phrases and idioms.
To be able to talk confidently about football, you’ll need to learn some of these phrases – so let’s take a look at 5!
Phrase 1: Underdog
Meaning: The team who are weaker and expected to lose the game.
Example: South Korea were the underdogs when they played against Brazil in the World Cup.
Phrase 2: Dark Horses
Meaning: The lesser known team that could be surprisingly successful.
Example: Many people picked Denmark as their dark horses for this World Cup, but they were eliminated in the group stage.
Phrase 3: Banana Skin
Meaning: A chance to make a mistake/lose/be embarrassed by being careless.
Example: Brazil had a lot of respect for Cameroon – even though Cameroon are less famous and successful, Brazil thought they were a potential banana skin.
Phrase 4: Clean sheet
Meaning: Not conceding a goal in the game.
Example: The goalkeeper was annoyed at conceding a last-minute goal, because he lost the chance to keep a clean sheet.
Phrase 5: Formation
Meaning: The plan that shows which position the players will play.
Example: Argentina decided to use a 4-3-3 formation, while Australia chose 5-3-2.
