Learn English: FOOTBALL Vocabulary

Hi, guys. What's happening? Right now, it's World Cup. Are you watching? I think the world

is watching the World Cup.

Today, I'm going to teach you about football. Please, please, please, please, please do

not call it "soccer". Let's go through this. In Canada and in America, people are quite

stupid, including me. For some reason, people like to say "soccer". Let's imagine that we

are playing a game with your foot and a ball. Well, I would call that "football". So one

rule that I have if you ever meet me is please don't call it "soccer". It's "football". In

kind of a slang kind of way, you can call it "footy". It's more British English, but

you can call it that just as long as you do not call it "soccer". Please do not call it

"soccer". Just to clarify this for you. The organization is called FIFA. What do you think

the F stands for? It's not called "SIFA"; it's called "FIFA". It's called "football".

So need I remind you; do not say "soccer". Thank you. Public service announcement is

now over. Let's get into the game.

Maybe you are very excited to watch the game. You are not sure what verb to use in English

because we have "look", "see", and "watch". This is easy. Because everyone's running and

smashing and biting people -- don't bite people when you play football. You're going to actually

watch the football game. So you can say to your friends, "Hey! Let's watch the game."

And your friend says, "Yes! Let's do that. I'm excited."

So maybe you get to the game late, and the game's already started. So you can say to

someone, "What is the score?" Okay? So if it's present tense, we want to use "is" because

it's present tense. "What is the score?" Maybe the person will tell you, "It's 2-1 for -- let's

say -- Brazil." Hi, everybody from Brazil. This means that Brazil is winning because

I tell you the name of the country. I would never tell you the team's losing. Okay? We

actually don't have a word for this little hyphen here when we talk about a score. So

we say, "It's 2-1 for Japan." Okay? Or, "It's 3-2 for Algeria." If you want to find out

the past tense -- maybe you missed the game entirely because you have a job. I have a

job. I miss games. So I have to catch up at the end. So you're going to ask your friends

or someone, "What was the score?" They will say the same answer except they'll say, "It

was -- for example -- 2-1 for Mexico." Okay? Or you could ask the person, "Who won?" They're

going to say the country. "Cameroon won 2-0." Okay? Again, we don't have to say this little

hyphen thing. Whatever country is the winner -- can someone give me another country name?

What's your country name? Is your country in the World Cup? Canada isn't, and I know

why. Because in Canada, we don't even know the name of the game. USA was in the World

Cup. They got shut out. So, "USA won 2-0." Whatever country's the winner, you have to

use the past tense. This is present tense: "win". Past tense is like the number -- exact

same way to say it. We say "won". I know the spelling looks strange, but it's actually

the same way to say it.

What happens in the World Cup -- in the World Cup only -- is they have different groups:

A, B, C, D. And when the teams play each other, groups get disqualified. So what happens is

in each group, one country will advance. So for example, I can say, "In group A, USA advances."

But they didn't, did they? History has been written.

If you are with a group of people and they're not wearing any team colors, you can say,

"Who are you supporting?" Or, "Who are you going for?" This means, "Who are you cheering

for? Who, like -- oh, come on! Go! Oh, I didn't get it." Do you get really excited when you

watch your team play? I don't. I don't have a team. Canada doesn't even know how to say

the sport correctly.

One thing that happens in the World Cup is there are many, many games in one day. Up

to three games a day. So you can ask someone, "Who plays today? Who plays tomorrow?" I'm

going to come back after I go have half-time and teach you some vocabulary.

Okay. I'm back. All right. Part two -- vocabulary. Let's go. "Half-time." I didn't even write

down "half-time". "Half-time", as you might be able to imagine, is half of the game. So

the game is usually 45 minutes and 45 minutes. And then, you have, I believe, 15 minutes

of rest, which is called "half-time". Each section is 45 minutes. However, because of

things like fouls or injuries, they're going to do what's called "added time". So "added

time" means they're going to put a couple minutes on the end of each half. So the first

half-time, maybe there'll be two minutes extra time or added time. Three minutes extra time

or added time. When you watch a football game, they don't stop the game. The game is always

going. The clock is going. Due to injuries and fouls, people falling, they add time onto

the game.

So let's go through some scores. We have two words to say the same thing. You can have

a "tie" game or a "draw". "Tie game", "draw". This means the score is equal. So for example,

one team has 2 -- "It was 2-2." It's a "tie game" or a "draw". If you have a score of

"nil-nil" -- it might have been a bit of a boring game for you because no team scored

a goal. "Goal!" I'm sure all of you know this word already. There's one really, really famous

announcer who always shouts "Goal!" Maybe when your team scores, you yell, "Goal!" "Goal"

is obviously someone's got the ball in the net.

There's a nasty thing called a "yellow card". And you will see a referee dig deep into his

pocket and produce a yellow card. A "yellow card" is like a strike against a player. So

the referee has seen the person do something which is illegal or against the rules in the

game. Now people do bad things in the game all the time, like biting people. Sometimes,

the ref -- or referee -- does not see that. But if the ref does see you do something bad,

he will give you a yellow card.

Step one is a yellow card. Step two is a red card. "Red card" means you are game over.

You are kicked out of the championship. You can no longer play in the World Cup. You get

to go home like the Spanish team. Red card, yellow card.

Maybe if you get one of these, you will give someone of the opposite time a penalty. A

"penalty" is a kick or something that's happened that's bad. So a "penalty" means that you've

done something bad, and the other team gets to have a kick against you that might make

it very, very easy.

"Kick". This is a verb that we use when we talk about the ball. We don't use any other

verb except for "kick". So you can say, "He kicked the ball into the net, and he got a

goal!"

This word, the pronunciation looks a little strange in this, but it's actually just called

"foul". So "foul" means you've done something wrong, and maybe the other team will get a

kick for you.

Here's another nasty, nasty one that's called "offside". I've made a foul. I think I have

-- stop the presses. Can you see my English foul? I'll give you a hint. It is a spelling

mistake that I have made. Can you spot the spelling mistake? The mistake is -- as I said,

my spelling -- there is no 'i' here. I'm such a bad football player and speller. That's

okay. We all make mistakes. So let's continue on with the game. So as I told you, a "foul"

means you do something bad. Okay?

"Offside". This one is a little bit difficult to explain, but I will try my best. This one

is also a little confusing when I watch football because I don't know that much about the game.

I'm no expert. I'm no hooligan. But I will try. So if you have someone from Team A who

is purple, and then, if we have another player from a different country who is going to be

Team B, if Team A is the forward or the attacker and Team B is going to be the defender, this

is what has to happen. If I am on Team A's side and I'm down here and I kick the ball,

when the ball is kicked, I have to be the same distance ahead as my defender. So if

you look at it like a line-up -- if this is B and this is A, my team, A, is going to kick

me the ball. At the time that the ball is kicked, we must be at the same level. If I

am further ahead than my opponent, this is called "offside". Even if my teammate kicks

the ball, I get it, and I score a goal, the goal is not counted because I was "offside".

So basically, "offside" means that you have to be level, on the same playing field, with

your opponent. It's kind of confusing.

If you have a foul, you will get what's called a "corner kick". So a "corner kick" happens

at the corner, and it's kick -- I release my foot. So corner kicks usually happen always

at the corner. And if this is the net, you will get to start here, and you'll get to

kick the ball. Hopefully, one of your players will be able to help you and get the ball

into the net and goal! Okay?

Sometimes people are injured or they have an injury. So this is an adjective. So whatever

player, you can say "was" or "is injured." This is a noun, so you can say "Messi" -- is

that going to happen? -- "was" -- oh, sorry. "Messi has an injury." So please be careful

with -- this one is a noun, and this one is an adjective. So you have to use proper grammar.

The person that stands in the net -- Mexico has a very good one of these -- is called

"goal keeper" because they keep the goals from coming in. Or in the short form, you

could say "goalie". The net -- do you know what the "net" is? It's the big, big, big,

big thing where the goal keeper stands in front of and doesn't want the ball to come

in.

If you've got added time at the end of the game, I think it makes it so much more exciting

especially if it is a tie game or if it's nil-nil. And your team is going to get that

kick. Your team is going to make it.

Now, one thing you have to watch out for -- I don't really see them in the World Cup, but

they are pretty, pretty big in England -- are these crazy guys and gals called "hooligans".

Say it with me, "hooligans". So you can say, like, "hoo-la-gans". "Hooligans" are crazy,

crazy guys that like to go and cause a ruckus at the game. They will fight the other team

with violence. Oh, they will be violent. They will cause riots -- riots. They will smash

cars. They will hurt other people with weapons. They might just take a hammer and smash your

head because you're wearing the wrong jersey. I do not see this -- I've never seen it in

the World Cup, but maybe on the streets of Brazil with your army present, they're watching

out for these hooligans.

So go hard or go home. Support your team. Have fun. The World Cup brings the world together,

and it separates us. Have fun. Bye-bye.