Hello everybody and welcome to EnglishPod.
My name is Marco.
My name is Katherine, and we hope by now you're very excited about football or soccer.
This is the World Cup time of year, so this comes every four years, actually.
And we've got a lesson all about it.
That's right.
So as everyone may or may not have heard, we are actually in the middle of the World Cup.
And as you say, it's a football or soccer competition.
Now, soccer is only used in the United States.
That's right.
It's used in the United States, although football can be confusing in a place like Australia, where they have two different games that are called football.
That's right.
So it's a little bit difficult at times to tell someone that you play football and they think you play American football or Australian football or soccer.
So it's a little bit confusing.
It can be, yeah.
All right.
So we have a great lesson all about the World Cup.
We're going to explain a little bit.
And so let's listen to the dialogue for the very first time.
What are you doing?
What am I doing?
What am I doing?
Don't you know what day it is?
Um, no.
It's only the day when the world's biggest sporting event is kicking off.
What?
The World Cup.
The first match is today.
It's Mexico versus South Africa.
It's going to be a really good match.
Both teams have a very strong offense and have skilled players.
I think that South Africa will probably dominate the first half, since they are the host country and all.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
The only sporting event we watch at home is the Super Bowl.
This is bigger than the Super Bowl, man.
Teams from 32 countries compete against each other every four years and fight to win that trophy.
They first start in a group stage with eight groups, each group having four teams.
The top two teams pass on to an elimination stage before going on to the semifinals and the quarterfinals.
Sounds interesting, but soccer doesn't really appeal to me.
Are you kidding?
Over 700 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup.
It's a very exciting and nerve-wracking sport.
Each nation is cheering on their team, hoping they will become the next champion.
So far, Brazil is the team with the most titles under their belt.
They're really good.
All I know about soccer is that you can't use your hands and that players are always falling down trying to get a free kick or penalty kick.
It seems like a sissy sport to me.
Whatever.
I'm going to go watch the opening match.
All right, we're back.
So obviously two people discussing or fighting over the World Cup and soccer.
One of them doesn't really like it.
But he came up with some really interesting points and explained a couple of interesting things.
So let's take a look at some of that vocab on Language Takeaway.
Language Takeaway.
So, okay, the very first phrase here is a very important one.
We're talking about sports.
This game is called a sporting event.
That's right.
So a sporting event is an event, I guess you would say is a performance or something that happens occasionally but related to sports.
That's right.
So an event can be a game itself or a tournament.
You've heard maybe of, well, the UEFA Cup.
That's the European Federation of Football or whatever it is.
So basically you have this tournament for European soccer teams.
But the World Cup is also an event and a very important game could also be an event.
So this basically means a sporting match or a sporting competition.
That's right.
Now, it may sound confusing as to why you put the ING in sport.
It should be maybe sports event or sport event, but I'm not really sure why we add the gerund to sporting event.
We always just say it this way.
It's a set phrase.
So let's remember that it's a sporting event.
This is the world's most important sporting event, for example.
Okay, very good.
Now, we went and we talked about the first match, Mexico versus South Africa.
And they're talking about the teams and how they both have a very strong offense.
Okay, so offense is a part of the team.
Basically, it's a group of players who are trying to score.
That's right.
Okay, so when you're good at offense, it means you're good at scoring.
And the opposite of offense is what?
Defense.
Defense.
So offense, defense.
You can say they have a very strong defense.
That means that it's very hard to score against them, because their defenders, their goalies, they're all very strong.
That's right.
So we're talking about an offense and a defense, both very important parts of a team.
And so the guy continued and made a little bit of a prediction, saying that South Africa will probably dominate the first half.
Okay, so you know that football matches are split into halves.
You have first half and second half.
To dominate here means to be stronger than someone else.
So to control the ball, or to have possession, or to be the one that is the strongest team on the field?
That's right.
So you can dominate by having a very strong defense, or you can dominate by having a very strong offense, or both.
Dominate means be stronger than.
That's right.
OK, now let's move on to the other guy who doesn't really like soccer.
And he says, I have no idea what you're talking about.
All I know is that I watch the Super Bowl.
Okay, now this is a very American thing, the Super Bowl.
That's right.
We mentioned earlier that in America, most people call the game soccer, not football.
Well, that's because in America, we have a different game called football.
That's right.
And so the Super Bowl is like the most important game in the football world.
It's the game that happens every year at the very end of the season.
That's right.
So this is what we usually call American football.
So you've probably seen it on TV as well.
And the Super Bowl is basically the name of the final sporting event of American football.
Just like we have World Cup, we have the Super Bowl.
And the winner of the Super Bowl is the best team that year.
That's right.
All right.
So now let's go on to explain a little bit about how the World Cup works.
The guy went on to explain that there are 32 countries competing.
And basically we have three parts, an elimination stage, a semifinals and quarterfinals.
Okay, so basically this describes the different levels, because obviously 32 teams can't compete for one trophy at first.
You have to make the numbers smaller.
So 32 becomes 16, becomes 8, becomes 4, becomes 2.
That's right.
And so we have different groups for these.
The first one is the elimination stage when some teams lose and they go home.
That's right.
And after that, then we have a quarterfinals.
So what is quarterfinals?
The quarterfinals are when you have eight teams that are basically the top eight teams of the competition and they will play against one other opponent.
So the winner passes on to the next stage, which would be the semifinals.
Semifinals.
Well, the math makes sense because quarter has to do with four, right?
That's right.
So in the quarterfinals, eight teams become four.
And in the semifinals, four teams become two.
That's right.
And then what happens after the semifinals?
And then we have the final, where basically the two top teams will compete against each other and there will be one champion.
USA!
USA!
And this is when it gets very nationalistic.
People are very proud of their countries.
Of course, of course.
And so this basically is what happens and how we get our champion.
And well, now let's explain a little bit very quickly about two things that happen in the game, during gameplay, when we have a free kick and a penalty kick.
OK, so a kick, you know, you just kick the ball.
But sometimes when the ball goes out of bounds or when a player is injured or there's a foul, then that player or his teammate can take a special kick.
All right.
And so a free kick is it's just a kick from anywhere, right?
A free kick is a kick that you get basically according to the referee who says, OK, stop the game.
He's going to kick from inside the lines.
That's right.
So wherever you are fouled, wherever somebody maybe hit you wrong or something happened, from that position, you will kick freely towards the goal or wherever you want.
You can pass to your other players as well.
That's right.
But a penalty kick is a bit different because you have to be in a special place when you do it.
That's right.
A penalty kick is when you are fouled inside the box.
What they call is in the area very close to the goalie.
So if you commit a foul there, then the other player will receive a penalty kick and it will just be him against the goalie and he must kick the ball.
I think it's approximately 10 meters, if I'm not mistaken.
Yes, and this is why it's very dangerous, because you're so close to the goalie and no one can stop you.
And so when fouls happen inside that special box, it's usually bad news for the goalie.
Yeah, of course.
So this is what happens during a penalty kick.
And, well, basically you have no defenders.
So it's just you, the goalie, and it can get, as you said, very complicated for the goalie.
All right, so we've taken a look at a lot of things on Language Takeaway.
Let's move on now to three phrases on Fluency Builder.
Fluency Builder.
Okay, so this is a great word to describe how I felt last week when I watched the England versus America match.
I thought it was a nerve-wracking game.
That's right.
And we heard this in the dialogue, right?
Yeah, you said it was a very nerve-wracking game.
In the dialogue, the guy said, it's a very exciting and nerve-wracking sport.
So if something's nerve-wracking, what does it mean?
Well basically, if you break it down, nerves are those things in your body, in your skin that make you feel.
So if someone hurts you, you feel it because of your nerves.
So something that is nerve-wracking makes you nervous.
It makes you anxious.
It makes you feel very sensitive.
That's right.
So, of course, the sporting event is so exciting and you're worried that your country or your team will lose that.
You're very nervous and you're very excited.
You're very anxious.
A lot of things are going on.
Maybe you're sweating.
Maybe you're drinking a lot.
You don't want to know.
You don't want to see your team lose, and so you get very nervous.
That's right.
And now, of course, if your team is in the World Cup, you are cheering on for your team or you're cheering them on.
Okay, so this is an interesting phrase because maybe you've heard the word to cheer before.
You know, go team, go team.
This is cheering.
But we often say, I want to cheer him on.
Okay, so this on to me means like I want to cheer him on to victory.
I want to push them towards some goal.
And so you hear this a lot.
Let's cheer them on.
Or he was really cheering me on.
Made me feel good.
Motivating you.
Motivating you.
So to cheer someone on.
Cheer them on.
Alright, so obviously this is why we have cheerleaders, right?
Give me an A. Give me a B. These are the girls or the group of girls that cheer teams on.
Or men, too.
I've seen male cheerleaders.
That's true.
Alright, and now, when we talked about Brazil, they are the team with the most titles under their belt.
Okay, we're not talking about a real belt here, are we?
No, no.
No.
Under your belt or under their belt in this case means that in their history they have the most titles.
That's right.
I think it may come from boxing or one of those sports where you actually wear a belt that says your title.
And I think, if I'm not mistaken, sometimes a boxing belt will have various titles on the belt.
Right.
The championship belts.
Yeah.
Because they wear it afterwards.
I've never heard that before, but it does make sense.
But the important thing to remember here is that it's not just sports.
You could say he has 10 years of experience in marketing under his belt.
That's right.
That means he's experienced at marketing.
That's right.
So that's right.
As you said, you can use it for work experience.
You can use it for titles in work or maybe in education.
You can say he's got three master's degrees under his belt.
Wow.
All right.
So a lot of great stuff there.
We've taken a look at a lot of vocab.
So I think we should listen to our dialogue again and we'll be back to talk a little bit more.
What are you doing?
What am I doing?
What am I doing?
Don't you know what day it is?
Um, no.
It's only the day when the world's biggest sporting event is kicking off.
What?
The World Cup.
The first match is today.
It's Mexico versus South Africa.
It's going to be a really good match.
Both teams have a very strong offense and have skilled players.
I think that South Africa will probably dominate the first half, since they are the host country and all.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
The only sporting event we watch at home is the Super Bowl.
This is bigger than the Super Bowl, man.
Teams from 32 countries compete against each other every four years and fight to win that trophy.
They first start in a group stage with eight groups, each group having four teams.
The top two teams pass on to an elimination stage before going on to the semifinals and the quarterfinals.
Sounds interesting, but soccer doesn't really appeal to me.
Are you kidding?
Over 700 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup.
It's a very exciting and nerve-wracking sport.
Each nation is cheering on their team, hoping they will become the next champion.
So far, Brazil is the team with the most titles under their belt.
They're really good.
All I know about soccer is that you can't use your hands and that players are always falling down trying to get a free kick or penalty kick.
It seems like a sissy sport to me.
Whatever.
I'm going to go watch the opening match.
All right.
So the World Cup.
As we said, it gathers over 100 million people to watch the final in 2006.
Now, this sport is not very popular in North America.
It's not.
Well, that's not totally true because Mexicans really follow football.
That's right.
That's right.
But I think in America, in the United States, it is one of the less popular sports.
I was thinking the other day, maybe number five on our list of popular sports.
Maybe because you have American football, the NFL, you have Major League Baseball, you have the NBA, you have the NHL.
And I think maybe before soccer, you probably either have golf or tennis before soccer.
Even though the United States does have its own Major League Soccer.
Yep, MLS, Major League Soccer.
And my hometown team is Chicago Fire, pretty good team.
I heard they're very good.
And the LA Galaxy, I think, is the other best team in the States.
That's right.
Now, the United States did host the 1994 World Cup.
And I think this is where a little bit of more interest started to come up.
And I think Major League Soccer was formed prior to the World Cup in the United States.
That's right.
Well, there's another part of it.
I mean, as young people, as children, we almost all played soccer.
I played soccer.
I know a lot of my friends did as well.
It's not popular everywhere, but a lot of people play it.
And there's not really an audience for soccer in America once you're in the professional realm.
And so the problem is, when you pass college, you don't think of it as the NBA, for example, because there's not as big of an audience.
And so people just end up doing their normal jobs as opposed to being professional soccer players.
I think that has a big something to do with.
It is the fact that there is not as much money in this sport professionally as, for example, the NBA.
Or prestige.
Exactly.
Although, on the other hand, these players that do make it and they really want to play, they go abroad and they go play in the European leagues or something like that.
That's right.
I think a lot of the American players who were playing the other day against England were playing against their teammates because so many of the American national team play in the English Premier League.
It was really awkward.
Well, it's a really great sport.
I think it's one of the most popular sports in many other countries as well because it's so easy.
All you need is a ball.
You need a group of people.
You put two rocks and you have a goal and you start playing.
And that's probably why it's the most international sport, because you know it's very easy to set up.
People all over the world love it.
And hopefully one day the United States will kind of push it.
Become champion.
Yeah, well, I hope this year they'll become champions.
But my fingers are definitely crossed because who knows.
All right, so it's a really great topic.
We want to know if your country is in the World Cup.
Have you ever qualified for a World Cup?
There are still many countries who haven't made it.
Of course, it's a very small pool.
198, 199 countries compete to qualify for the World Cup, and only 32 make it.
And you can also tell us who you're supporting.
We won't judge.
That's right.
So we're waiting for your comments at EnglishPod.com.
We'll see everyone there.
Bye.
Bye.
Thank you.
