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Hard: Too close to call

Hard: Too close to call

Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

This episode is hard so we’re looking at more difficult football phrases and idioms.

Summary

Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the phrase too close to call

You can find more lessons on the side of this page.

Transcript

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.

Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English. 

Rich: Remember you can find transcripts for all of our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack: Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. 

Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

Jack: This episode is hard so we’re looking at more difficult football phrases and idioms. These phrases can be used to talk about football but are often useful when talking about other topics.


Rich: The phrase we are looking at in this episode is: too close to call.

Jack: The phrase too close to call is used to describe a competition where it’s not clear who will win.

Rich: Competitions are too close to call when it is likely to be won by a very small margin or amount.

Jack: A competition or result is too close to call when either side may win.

Rich: Let’s look at the two words that make up this phrase. Let’s start with the word close. Close has lots of meanings but what does it mean in this phrase?

Jack: If something is close to you, it is near to you. I have a park close to my house for example.  Close has a similar meaning in this phrase as the competitors are very close or near to each other in the race or competition.

Rich: What about the word call?

Jack: To call in this phrase means the same as predict. When a football match is 0-0 and there are lots of chances at both ends the result can be difficult to call.

Rich: We see the phrase too close to call used in sports competitions and political races and elections. Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Jack: This season’s title race is too close to call. Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea are within three points of each other with two games left to play.

Rich: In this example, it’s difficult to predict which team will win the league because the teams’ positions in the league table and the number of points they have earned are so close together. Here’s another example:

Jack: The relegation battle is too close to call. It could be any three from six really.

Rich: Again, we’re saying we can’t predict who will be relegated because there are six teams in a similar position in the league. The relegation battle is too close to call.

Jack: Moving away from football we also see the phrase used a lot when there are elections.

Rich: When an election or political race is very close, TV stations and other media outlets will say the race is too close to call.

Jack: When the TV station has more information they will call the result for one side or the other.

Rich: As we speak the result of the US election is too close to call.


Jack: There is the final whistle!

Rich: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football. 

Comment

Discuss

Can you tell us about a competition that was too close to call until the final moment?

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Komentar

Michaelsun
12/03/2022
CN
738
points

The first PL title of Manchester City was too close to call until the additional time of the last match in that season.


Michaelsun
12/03/2022 11:57
China
Manchester United
738

The first PL title of Manchester City was too close to call until the additional time of the last match in that season.

Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
26/05/2021
BR
1512
points

The last French league season, where LOSC Lille became Champions due 2 points difference to PSG.


Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
26/05/2021 21:00
Brazil
Arsenal
1512

The last French league season, where LOSC Lille became Champions due 2 points difference to PSG.

julietthor's picture
julietthor
23/11/2020
MY
222
points

The Italian League was too close to call lasr season because Juventus won the the league with only one point ahead.


julietthor's picture
julietthor
23/11/2020 03:53
Malaysia
Chelsea
222

The Italian League was too close to call lasr season because Juventus won the the league with only one point ahead.

hsn's picture
hsn
22/11/2020
TR
5560
points

In Turkey, in May/2006 there was an aggressive title race between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray at the top spot. The champion would be known at the last matches. Galatasaray’s match was a game in hand but Fenerbahçe’s opponent was a team that will be relegated if they lost the match.
The competition was too close to call. In the end Galatasaray became champion.


hsn's picture
hsn
22/11/2020 16:50
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

In Turkey, in May/2006 there was an aggressive title race between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray at the top spot. The champion would be known at the last matches. Galatasaray’s match was a game in hand but Fenerbahçe’s opponent was a team that will be relegated if they lost the match.
The competition was too close to call. In the end Galatasaray became champion.

gogo
19/11/2020
VN
93
points

The 2018-2019 Premier League was too close to call,between Liverpool and Man City,if John Stone kicked the ball out slower,the trophy could have gone to Liverpool.But 11 milimeters were enough for City to win the league.


gogo
19/11/2020 14:13
Vietnam
Chelsea
93

The 2018-2019 Premier League was too close to call,between Liverpool and Man City,if John Stone kicked the ball out slower,the trophy could have gone to Liverpool.But 11 milimeters were enough for City to win the league.

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
06/11/2020
TR
6539
points

The 2011–12 Premier League was the 20th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. Manchester City sealed their first league title since 1968 with victory over Queens Park Rangers on the final minute of the last day.
The title was City's first Premier League success, making them the fifth club to win the Premier League in its 20-year history.
We were too close to call it as it was 1-2 to QPR till 92nd minute suddenly out of blue Edin Dzeko scored a header from a corner and at that moment our match was finished and we were waiting for at least a draw at Etihad Stadium but a miracle happened when Sergio Aguero scored a stunner at 94th minute to seal the Premier League to City after a crazy stoppage time incidents.
City finished level on 89 points with Manchester United, but their goal difference was eight better than our Manchester United , making it the first time the Premier League had been won on goal difference.


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
06/11/2020 09:33
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

The 2011–12 Premier League was the 20th season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. Manchester City sealed their first league title since 1968 with victory over Queens Park Rangers on the final minute of the last day.
The title was City's first Premier League success, making them the fifth club to win the Premier League in its 20-year history.
We were too close to call it as it was 1-2 to QPR till 92nd minute suddenly out of blue Edin Dzeko scored a header from a corner and at that moment our match was finished and we were waiting for at least a draw at Etihad Stadium but a miracle happened when Sergio Aguero scored a stunner at 94th minute to seal the Premier League to City after a crazy stoppage time incidents.
City finished level on 89 points with Manchester United, but their goal difference was eight better than our Manchester United , making it the first time the Premier League had been won on goal difference.

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1Alex_from_Ukraine6578
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5560
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4Serbia27426
5Brazil23661
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8Turkey20111
9Macedonia19074
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2Liverpool111527
3Chelsea90265
4Arsenal86299
5Manchester City58968
6Tottenham Hotspur19506
7Newcastle United10626
8West Ham United7701
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