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Soccer is the sport the whole planet argues about. Fans in São Paulo, London, Lagos and Tokyo stay up past midnight for the same match, and the next morning everyone has an opinion about the referee.
One naming point first. Most of the world calls this sport football. In the United States it's soccer, because "football" already means the American game with the oval ball. This course uses American English, so it's soccer here, but don't be surprised when a friend from Manchester or Madrid says football and means the same thing. Both words are correct in their place.
Soccer talk has its own small words. A team scores a goal, the match ends in a tie (British speakers say a draw), and a player who's offside was too far forward when the ball came. The score is said as "two to one" or "two-one," and a zero is often nothing: "We lost one-nothing."
Phrases
put the ball in the net
one soccer contest; Americans say both
both teams had the same score; British: a draw
how Americans say soccer scores out loud
a player was ahead of the defenders when the ball was passed
a free shot at the goal after a foul in the box
the official who controls the game
a warning, and a removal from the game
the added minutes at the end of each half
penalty kicks that decide a tied knockout game
the big international tournament every four years
an informal game with whoever shows up
Say it out loud
Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.
Practice · 3 min
Say one natural line for each situation.
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Say it today
Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.