FOOTBALL VOCABULARY IN ENGLISH
as touching the ball with their hands. They are punished
assistant referee: (Noun) This is the person who runs
up and down the football pitch (field). Their job is to tell
the referee if the ball goes out. They are also important
when it comes to helping with offside decisions. In the
past, this person’s job was called a ‘linesman.’
Eg.The assistant referee held up his flag to show the
referee that the ball was still in play.
Attacker: (Noun) The role of an attacker in a team is to
score goals. Another word for an attacker is a forward.
Eg.Lionel Messi, who plays for Barcelona, is one of the
world’s best attackers. He has great skill and can move
quickly towards the goal.
Away Game: (Noun) When the team has to travel to
another team’s stadium to play the match.
Eg.Philip hates traveling for away games. He always
gets really tired and never plays well.
Corner: (Noun) This is a free kick from any of the four
corners of the pitch.
Eg.When the goalkeeper touched the ball, the referee
awarded the other team a corner kick.
Locker room: (Noun) The area where teams meet
and change into their football uniforms.
Eg.The players sat in the locker room while they
listened to their coach speak.
Defender: (Noun) A defender is a player who tries to
stop the other team from scoring a goal.
Eg.England always does well in the World Cup
matches because of their strong defense.
Draw: (Verb/Noun) When the final score is the same
(e.g. 1-1).
The game ended in a draw, and the final score was 2-
2.
Equalizer: (Noun) When one player scores a goal and
the score becomes equal (the same).
Eg.In the last minute, Marcello was able to run past the
defense and score an equalizing goal. The final score
of the game was 1-1.
Extra time: (Noun) An important game is made longer
when it finishes in a draw.
Eg.They were lucky the game went into extra time
because they ended up winning.
Fit: (Adjective) From the word fitness. If a player is fit
they are in good form and are okay to play. Check this
post out to learn more fitness related English
vocabulary words.
Eg.Michael needs to get fit over the summer otherwise
he will not be chosen for the team.
Foul: (Noun) When a player does an illegal action such
and the other team is awarded a free kick.
When one player pushed a player from the opposite
team, the referee blew his whistle. He then gave the
other team a free kick for the foul.
Full-time: (Noun) When the final whistle is blown and the
game is over.
The referee blew his whistle twice to tell everyone it was
full-time.
Goalkeeper: (Noun) The player who stands between the
goal posts and tries to stop the ball from entering the
goal.
The goalkeeper for France dived to the ground and
saved Ronaldo’s shot.
Half-time: (Noun) The short break after the first half of
the game is played.
The players ran off the pitch and had a meeting during
half-time.
Handball: (Noun) This is a kind of foul when a player
touches the ball with his hand.
Eg.When the ball hit Matt on the arm, the referee blew
his whistle and the other team was given a penalty.
Header: (Noun) To hit the ball with the head instead of
the foot.
Eg.Ronaldo’s teammate passed the ball high to him. He
jumped up and headed it into the goal.
Home game: (Noun) When the team gets to play in their
own territory. Opposite: Away game.
Eg.Most teams perform better when they have a home
game.
Injury time: (Noun) Extra time at the end of half-time or
full-time if there have been any injuries during the game.
Eg.Because Barcelona had two injured players, the
game went into injury time at the end.
Kick off: (Verb/Noun) When the game begins.
Do you have any idea what time is kickoff?
Match: (Noun) Another word for a game.
Eg.Who do you think is going to win the match?
Midfielder: (Noun) A player who usually stays in the
middle of the field.
Eg.Mesut Ozil is one of the best midfielders in the world.
Offsides: (Adjective/Noun) A football rule that states that
when the ball is passed, there must be at least 2
defenders between the attacker from the other team and
the goal line. If not, it is considered offsides and the
player is punished.
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Eg.The fans in the stadium shouted angrily when the
referee blew his whistle to say that Messi was offsides;
he had been very close to scoring a goal.
Pass: (Verb/Noun) To kick the ball to another player on
your team.
Eg. Frank Lampard passed the ball to Beckham.
Beckham kicked the ball and scored!
Penalty kick: (Noun) A free kick.
Eg.Bale passed the ball to his teammate, but he was
offside. As a result, the other team was given a penalty
kick.
Penalty shootout: (Noun) If the game is still drawn
(equal points) after extra time there is a best-out-of-five
penalty kick competition. The team with the most goals
wins the game.
Eg.The fans went silent as they nervously watched the
penalty shootout between the two teams.
Pitch: (Noun) The football field.
Because it had been raining for a couple of days, the
pitch was muddy and difficult to play on.
Red Card: (Noun) A punishment given by the referee.
If a player does something bad, they are given a red
card and sent off the field.
He was handed a red card for starting a fight with the
other team and as a result, their team lost.
Shoot: (Verb) To try and score a goal by kicking.
Ronaldo shot the ball right into the back of the net to
score the winning goal.
Spectator: (Noun) A person who watches a game.
There weren’t many spectators at the game because of
the rain.
Stands: (Noun) Where the fans sit in the stadium.
There was a lot of excitement in the stands as the fans
cheered for their teams.
Striker: (Noun) A player who shoots the goals.
Lionel Messi is one of the best strikers in the world. He
has scored the most goals ever for Barcelona.
Substitute: (Sub) (Verb/Noun) To take one player off
the field and replace them with another player.
When Sir Alex Ferguson saw that his players were
getting tired, he always substituted them.
Tackle: (Verb) To try and take the ball from the opposite
team using your feet.
Eg.When Mike tried to tackle the other player, he pushed
him and he was given a yellow card and a warning.
Throw in: (Verb/Noun) When the ball goes out, a player
takes the ball and throws it to his teammate from outside
over his head.
Jake stood on the line and quickly threw the ball in to his
teammate..
Touchline: (Noun) The longest sides of the pitch. These
are also known as sidelines.
The manager and coach stood on the touchline shouting
out instructions to their team.
Wall: (Noun) When the players of one team make a
human wall to try and block a free kick.
The players made a wall as Lionel Messi went to shoot.
Yellow card: (Noun) The first warning that is given to a
player when they do something seriously wrong before
receiving a red card.
Bale needs to be more careful when playing because
he’s already been given one yellow card.
Scoring Related Vocabulary
Concede: (Verb) When the goalkeeper allows a goal to
be scored.
England’s goalkeeper was criticized for the amount of
goals he conceded.
Defeat: (Noun) To suffer a defeat means to lose the
match/game.
It was evident that everyone was upset when Atletico
Madrid suffered defeat.
Goal difference: (Noun) The goal difference is the
difference in points/goals between the two teams. For
example team A scored 3 goals and team B scored 1
goal so the goal difference is 2.
Because all of the teams in the Premier League are
really strong, the goal difference is usually small.
Knock out (Phrasal Verb) If one team knocks out
another team, they beat them. After this the losing team
can no longer play in the tournament.
In the last World Cup, New Zealand was knocked out of
the competition by Mexico.
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(The) Lead: (Noun) If a team has the lead, then they
are winning at the moment.
At the end of the first half Real Madrid were in the lead,
but Chelsea won in the end.
Score: (Noun) The recorded number of goals that
shows us who is winning the match.
I think the final score between Barcelona and Real
Madrid will be 2-0.
Scoreboard: (Noun) The board where the team’s
goals are shown.
The time on the scoreboard shows there’s only 5
minutes left of the match.
Win: (Verb) If a team wins the match, it means that
they have scored more goals than the other team.
I think that Brazil has the strongest football team in the
world and they have a good chance of winning the
2014 World Cup.
Advantage: (Noun) The referee doesn’t always blow
his whistle to stop the game when a foul has been
committed. It may be unfair for the innocent team, so
he lets the game continue.
The ref held up his hand to call advantage.
Bench: (Noun) The chairs where the substitute players
sit. Phrase: On the bench.
Jack’s coach decided to keep him on the bench for
being late to training.
Bicycle kick: (Noun) When the player kicks the ball
backwards over his own head.
Ronaldo is famous for his bicycle kick. When he does
it, the fans go crazy.
Booking: (Noun) To be given a yellow card to show a
serious foul.
After two bookings for fighting with the other team,
Jonathan was sent off.
Boot: (Verb) To kick.
Torres booted the ball across the pitch to his
teammate.
Box: (Noun) The penalty area around the goal.
The opposition formed a line in the box to try and block
Messi from scoring.
Coin toss: (Noun) Toss a coin: (Verb) At the
beginning of the match the referee tosses a coin to see
which team starts.
Jack’s team won the coin toss.
Dead ball: This is when the game is stopped and the ball
is not moving. All free kicks and penalty kicks must be
taken from a dead ball.
When the ball was dead, Luis ran up to the ball and
booted it.
Division: (Noun) Categories.
All the top teams of the UK are in the premier division
(league).
Fixture: (Noun) Planned games.
All the World Cup fixtures are chosen out of a hat to
make sure it’s completely fair.
Mark: (Verb) To mark a player means to guard them to
try and stop them from receiving the ball from their
teammate.
The manager shouted out to his players to mark the
opposition.
Own goal: (Noun) When one player accidentally kicks
the ball into their own goal.
The fans booed when John scored an own goal.
Pep talk: (Noun) A short talk of encouragement from the
manager.
The players sat and listened to their coach give them a
pep talk in the changing rooms.
Promotion: (Noun) Promote: (Verb) When a team does
very well one season, they will play in a higher category
next time.
Doncaster Rovers have always been one of the UK’s
weaker teams, but after a successful season, they were
promoted.
Rivals: (Noun) Enemy/opposition.
Manchester United and Manchester City have been
rivals for years.
Relegation: (Noun) Relegate: (Verb) The opposite of
promote/promotion. When one team do very poorly in
one season, they are placed in a lower division.
After having a lot of bad luck last season, Hull was
relegated.
Skipper: (Noun/Verb) Captain.
John Terry was chosen to skipper the English side for the
2014 FIFA World Cup.
Scissor kick: (Noun/Verb) When a player kicks his legs
like a pair of scissors and passes the ball sideways to his
teammate.
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Ryan Giggs Scissor kicked the ball skillfully to his
teammate.
Spot kick: (Noun) Another word for a penalty because
the ball is placed on a certain spot (place).
Beckham placed the ball down in preparation for his
spot kick.
Timeout: (Noun) The manager or the coach will call
timeout for a few minutes to have a little chat with their
players.
After Rooney was given a yellow card, Sir Alex
Ferguson called timeout to talk to his team.
Transfer fee: (Noun) When a player is sold to another
team, they must pay some money.
Eg.One of the highest transfer fees in football history
was when Chelsea bought Fernando Torres.
Cleats: (Noun) Cleats are small spikes (sharp things
that stick out of the shoe) to help the players not slip.
Another word for cleats is studs.
Gloves: (Noun) The goalkeeper wears special gloves
on their hands to catch the ball.
Goal posts: (Noun) The physical goal where the ball
must travel through for a goal to be scored.
Jersey: (Noun) The top that the player wears. It
usually has their name and number on it.
Kit: (Noun) The ‘football kit’ refers to the whole uniform
that the player wears.
Net: (Noun) The net is connected/attached to the goal
posts. It stops the ball from flying everywhere.
Soccer socks: (Noun) These are long socks that cover
the players shin pads.
Shin-pads: (Noun) These are plastic covers that
protect a player’s shins (the bottom part of the leg’s
front ) from getting kicked.
Strip: (Noun) A team’s strip is the specially designed
shirt with the team’s colors and sign.
Real Madrid’s strip is white, which I don’t think is very
practical because it gets dirty easily.
English Vocabulary for Soccer / Football
Commentary
Clinical finish: (Noun) A very well-controlled shot at
goal that results in a goal.
David Beckham is one of the most skilled players in
history. He is famous for his clinical finishes.
Commentator: (Noun) The person who reports every
move of the game while it is happening.
John Motson is one of the most famous British
commentators.
Keep possession: (Verb) When one team plays well
and has the ball more than the other team.
The Australia team is great at keeping possession, but
they have difficulties scoring.
Long-ball game: (Noun) It is when a team continues to
kick long passes. A long-ball game is very boring to
watch. This is a negative term.
Eg.Sheffield Wednesday is playing their usual long-ball
game.
One-touch football: (Noun) This is used in a way to
show admiration for one team that successfully manages
to pass the ball with only one touch.
As usual the Spanish team are showing off their skills at
one-touch football. Look at them go!
Prolific goal scorer: (Noun) A player who is very
successful in scoring goals in almost every game.
Ronaldo is a prolific goal scorer and it’s almost
guaranteed that he will score a goal in every match.
Put eleven men behind the ball: (Phrase/verb) When a
team is more interested in defending than scoring a goal.
The USA team isn’t doing much and are making very
little effort to score. Their manager seems to have put
eleven men behind the ball again.
Replay: (Verb/Noun) To show the video again to the TV
viewers.
Let’s take a look at the replay of that fine goal scored by
Lorrick Cana.
Underdog: (Noun) The team people think are going to
lose.
Atletico Madrid surprised everyone with their win against
Barcelona as they’ve always been the underdogs in the
Spanish league.
Get stuck in: (Verb/phrase) To play hard with a lot of
determination.
Look at those guys play! They’re really getting stuck in!
Have a lot of pace: (Verb/phrase) To be quick.
Look at Jane go!
Wow, she’s got a lot of pace, I’m impressed!
Yes, she sure is fast!
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Have a sweet left foot: (Verb/phrase) To say that a
person is very skilled at kicking and scoring with their
left foot.
Man, did see that goal of Paul’s?
Yeah, he’s got a sweet left foot. I can’t even kick with
my right foot like that!
Man on! (Noun) A warning that you can use to shout
out to your teammate to tell him that another player is
right behind them.
Eg.Jose screamed “man on” when he saw a player
from the opposition behind Marcello.
Pull off a great/amazing save: (Verb/phrase) To be
able to save a ball that many people expected to be a
goal.
Peter’s one of the best goalkeepers ever. He’s always
able to pull of great saves.
Put it in the back of the net: (Verb/Phrase) To score a
goal.
Eg.Sam is always able to put the ball in the back of the
net.
We were robbed! (Phrase/expression) You use this
phrase when you believe the game was unfair.
The referee was totally biased and sided with the other
team. We should have won, we were robbed!
Broadcast: (Noun/Verb) When a live event on TV,
online or radio is played.
Eg.Were you able to watch the live broadcast of the
match between Brazil and Spain?
Fever pitch: (Noun) An extremely high level of
excitement in the crowd.
The Real Madrid fans reached fever pitch as they
scored the equalizing goal in the last few seconds of
the match.
Group stage: (Noun) The period/time of a tournament
when the teams compete in groups to see who will go
to the next round.
Croatia, Cameroon, Brazil and Mexico make up group
A of the FIFA world cup 2014. I predict Brazil will be the
winner of the group.
Host country: (Noun) The country where an
international event such as the World Cup or the
Olympic Games will be held.
The host country for the 2018 World Cup is Russia.
National anthem: (Noun) The song of a country.
Eg.All players proudly sing their national anthem before
playing an international match.
National team: A team that represents the country.
Spain has one of the strongest National teams in the
world.
Knockout stage: (Noun) A time of the tournament when
teams are eliminated (no longer allowed to play) if they
lose.
They can’t lose a game in the knockout stage. This is too
important!
Qualify: (Verb) To be able to score enough wins or
points to compete in the international event.
Eg.This year Albania did not qualify to take part in the
2014 games.
Quarter-finals: (Noun) The final four matches to see
which teams will make it to the semi-finals.
Eg.There are some strong teams in this year’s quarter-
final.
Runners-up: (Noun) The team who comes 2nd in a
tournament.
Eg.Atletico Madrid were runners-up in the 2014
Champions League.
Semi-finals: (Noun) A round of two games to see which
two teams are going to qualify for the final.
Eg.Every team plays their hardest in the semi-finals
because it’s a great honor to reach the finals.
Sponsor: (Noun/Verb) A company or individual that
gives money to the organization to help pay for the costs
of the event.
One of the official sponsors of the 2014 FIFA World Cup
is Coca-Cola.
The finals: (Noun) The final/finishing rounds of a
tournament that include the quarter and semi-finals.
The finals of the 2014 Champions League were
dominated by Spain and England.
The final: (Noun) The last match of the tournament to
see who the winner of the championship will be.
The Champions League final between Real Madrid and
Atletico Madrid was a very exciting match.
Trophy: (Noun) The winner’s cup that is given to the
winning team to show their success.
The team held up the trophy excitedly to show
appreciation to their fans.