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In this football language podcast we look back at the first week of the 2024 Euros and discuss some of the good, the bad and the ugly from the tournament. You can read the transcript for this podcast below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.
Learn English Through Football Podcast: Euro 2024 – Week 1
DF: You’re listening to Languagecaster.com’s football-language podcast. Hello and welcome to the show for everyone who wants to practice their English and who loves the beautiful game of football. My name is Damian and I am in a sunny London and I am one half of the Languagecaster team, the other of course is Damon who is based in Tokyo, Japan.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Czech)
The 2024 European Championship are a week old and we have seen some great games and some wonderful goals so far. And on today’s show we’ll be looking back at some of the language from a great first week from the tournament. We’ll be looking at some of the good, the bad and the ugly and also look at some superlative expressions: who has been the oldest player at the tournament? How about the youngest? Who has scored the quickest goal so far? Who are the lowest-ranked side in the competition?
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in German).
The Good
Yes, that message was in German and the Euro 2024 hosts have been impressive in their first two matches; easily defeating Scotland and Hungary. Germany, Portugal and Spain all have 100% records after two games with Portugal and Spain both guaranteed to top their groups. The Spanish, in particular, have been very good with dominant attacking performances over Croatia and Italy.
It’s also been a good week for the tournament itself with some wonderful attacking football – at times it seems like an FA Cup replay as both teams just go for the win! There have also been lots of amazing goals: the Romanian opening goal by Stanciu against Ukraine was beautiful as his first-time shot went top bins. The Swiss striker Shaqiri scored a remarkable first-time strike from outside the box to equalise against Scotland. But maybe the best two goals have come from Turkish players in their win over Georgia: first their right back Mert Muldur scored with an amazing volley from outside the box and then their teenage star Arda Guler curled an unstoppable shot -again from outside the box – to help Turkey defeat the Georgians. And there have been some upsets too with Slovakia beating Belgium and Romania thrashing Ukraine 3-0, while Albania drew with Croatia and Georgia secured their first ever point at a major finals with a draw against the Czech Republic.
The Bad
Well, Belgium suffered a surprise defeat in their opening game against Slovakia, while Croatia only have one point from their two opening games. But perhaps the biggest disappointment so far has been the performance of one of the pre-tournament favourites England. Even though they are top of their group and should progress to the last 16 they are receiving lots of criticism from pundits and fans who cannot understand why they are playing so poorly. It’s tournament football though and it’s a marathon not a sprint (well, hopefully); so let’s see what will happen next week.
The Ugly
Embed from Getty Images
There have been some comments about some of the organisation around the tournament with some transport fails, while there have been some fan disputes (though generally small) but mostly there has been a great atmosphere. There has only been one red card so far and that came in the opening match when an ugly challenge from the Scottish defender Ryan Porteous saw him sent to the stands. Now, let’s see what happens over the next week as the tension rises!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (Italian fan)
Euro 2024 Football Language Posts
Yes, that was from one of our Italian fans. Now, some of you may have noticed that we have been adding a football language post each day from the Euros. We have looked at language such as ‘kickstart their campaign’; ‘sweep home’; ‘snatch a last-gasp win’ and ‘screamer’. Come along to our site and take a look, leave a like and/or a comment and let us know what football phrases, in any language, you have heard while watching the Euros.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (Danish fan)
Superlatives: The best; the youngest; the most…
Sometimes we want to make a comparison between things in football: maybe between leagues, positions, players, teams or styles. So, the way Spain play is more exciting than the way England play, for example. We could also say that Bellingham is playing better than Kane at the moment. But what if we want to talk about the best player at the tournament or the best goal or the team that has scored the most goals? Okay, let’s have a little quiz to practice this form of language and of course to test out your Euro 2024 knowledge.
- Who is the oldest player at the Euros?
- And who is the youngest?
- Which player has played in the most European Championship tournaments?
- Which team is the lowest ranked? Which team is ranked the lowest?
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (Dutch fan)
OK, let’s have a look at the answers.
- Who is the oldest player at the Euros? This is Portugal defender Pepe who is 41 and 113 days – it’s an amazing record for the Porto defender.
- And who is the youngest? This is Barcelona and Spain teenage sensation Lamine Yamal who will only turn 17 later in the tournament. What a player he already is!
- Which player has played in the most European Championship tournaments? Well, that’s Ronaldo who is now playing in his sixth tournament.
- Which team is the lowest ranked? This is Georgia who are currently in 74th position in the FIFA rankings.
Can you think of any other questions about the 2024 Euros that uses these types of structures?
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (Hungarian fan)
Predictions
Yes, you are listening to Languagecaster’s Learning English Through Football Podcast and that message was in Hungarian. Now, don’t forget that we are running a Predictions Competition in which you can take on Damon, myself and many other football fans around the word. Simply register or log in (for free) and then add your scores. It’s three points for a win and one for the right result and this time we are also going to have jokers (where you can double your points). So even if you haven’t started you still have a chance. Good luck everyone!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (French fan)
Glossary
DF: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster.com, and that message was from a French fan. Remember, that here at Languagecaster’s site you can find out more about some of the words and phrases that we have already discussed today, along with hundreds more football-language expressions. Just come along to our football-language glossary and take a look.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Turkish).
Contact
DF: OK, if you have any questions or comments about any of the words and phrases from today or indeed any other football language then drop us an email at admin@languagecaster.com. You can also look out for us on social media – we’ve just posted lots and lots of our podcasts on YouTube; we also have a football-language forum where you can ask and answer any questions you have on the language of football. We’ve had some posts and comments around some phrases from the Euros including, ‘sit back‘; ‘run the game‘ and ‘snatch‘. I think that was connected to Portugal snatching a win in the 94th minute And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to our football-language podcasts. You can access these and all of our other football-language podcasts at Languagecaster.com.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Polish).
Goodbye
DF: That message was in Polish and we’d love to hear from more languages from this year’s European Championship teams – send us on an audio!
Don’t forget there’s a transcript for this podcast with lots of vocabulary support – come along and take a look. OK, that’s it for this podcast in which we looked back at the first week from the Euro 24 tournament. Let us know if you hear any of the phrases from today’s show of course in any language. Enjoy all the football this week – there’s Copa America and the second week of the Euros. And we’ll be back soon with some more football language. Bye bye!