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Megan Rapinoe celebrates a goal for the USA.

Summer Tournaments: Come out on top

Summer Tournaments: Come out on top

Welcome to This Week from Premier Skills English, a weekly review of football action for learners of English from across the globe. In This Week, Jack and Rich talk about the latest action from the Premier League and the world of football. They keep you up to date with our latest competitions and have lots of football English for you to learn.

Transcript

If the listening is a bit difficult, try listening and reading at the same time.
Read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Introduction  

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to our weekly round-up section called ‘This Week’ on Premier Skills English.

Rich: Hi there. I’m Rich. We’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

Jack: We want you to use and practise these phrases by interacting with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.

Rich: If you listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you can leave your comments in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.

Jack: You can find all our latest content on the Premier Skills English homepage or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page. 

Rich: Let’s start with our headlines! 

Headlines

Jack: It’s down to four in France.

Rich: The Women’s World Cup winners will be crowned in France this week. We’re down to the last four. England, the USA, the Netherlands and Sweden are the teams involved as we see who will come out on top.

Jack: It’s the semis in Brazil.

Rich: The Copa America is also at the semi-final stage. The dark horses of the tournament, Peru, take on Chile in one semi-final and probably the most anticipated match of the summer, Argentina take on Brazil in the other semi.

Jack: It’s knockout time in Egypt.

Rich: The group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations are over and now the teams will really get down to business in the knockout stages. Liverpool’s Sadio Mane has been in great form for Senegal and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has ignored the recent rumours of a possible transfer to bag his first-ever tournament goal for Ivory Coast.

Jack: The football in Egypt is hotting up but I like to watch matches at the business end of tournaments.

Rich: Me too. That’s a great phrase ‘the business end of tournaments’ Can you explain it?

Jack: Yes, it means the part of the tournament when things matter most; when things get decided. Not much gets decided in the group stages but in the semis and of course the final that’s when things really matter. We often hear it about the Premier League too. It’s the business end of the season - the last few matches.

Rich: Did you notice that we used ‘it’s’ in all of the headlines and when you said it’s the business end of the tournament.

Jack: It’s down to four in France, It’s the semis in Brazil and It’s knockout time in Egypt.

Rich: You know, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this in an English book. But we use this phrase a lot to talk about things happening now.

Jack: Yes - ‘it’s’ is a really common way to introduce a fact or to say that something is happening. What’s the time?

Rich: It’s four o’clock.

Jack: Why are you putting on your shoes?

Rich: It’s time to leave.

Jack: What’s it like in Spain?

Rich: It’s really hot.

Jack: So, it’s the business end of the tournament at the Women’s World Cup and the Copa America right now - at the moment.

Rich: Exactly.

Vocabulary alert!

Rich: In our vocabulary alert, we look at some football English that we used in the headlines.

Jack: Our six words and phrases this week are: to come out on top, a dark horse, to take on, anticipated, to get down to business and to bag.

Rich: Let’s start with the phrase to come out on top. It basically means to win a competition or argument. It’s often used in football in adverts. For example:

Jack: This weekend sees Manchester United take on Chelsea in the Premier League. Watch it live and exclusive on TVsports to see who comes out on top.

Rich: Good work - I see a future career for you in TV advertising.

Jack: Thanks. The next phrase is a dark horse. We use this term to describe a person or team in a competition that wasn’t expected to do well but is surprising everybody.

Rich: We described Peru as the dark horses in the Copa America as nobody expected them to reach the semi-finals.

Jack: The next phrase is a phrasal verb. It’s to take on. I think it’s really common in football English so really useful. It basically means play or challenge.

Rich: This week Brazil take on Argentina and Peru take on Chile. Brazil have to take on the challenge of playing Argentina.

Jack: The next word is anticipated and it’s an adjective. We said Brazil against Argentina is one of the most anticipated matches of the summer.

Rich: In football, it’s usually used to describe something that lots of people have been looking forward to for a long time.

Jack: The next phrase is another one that uses the word business; to get down to business. The phrase means to start being serious or to start doing the most important things.

Rich: The Africa Cup of Nations really starts getting down to business in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Jack: The final phrase is to bag. That’s right the word bag can be a verb. It’s an informal word to mean collect.

Rich: In football, you can say a player bagged a hat-trick or a team bagged three points. In the headlines, we said Wilfried Zaha bagged his first-ever tournament goal for Ivory Coast.

Jack: OK, so there are our six words and phrases. Listen to this part of the podcast again if you are not sure how to use them.

Rich: The words and phrases are: to come out on top, a dark horse, to take on, anticipated, to get down to business and to bag.

Football Awards

Rich: Right, every week, we give out three Matchweek awards. 

Jack: The awards are Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Goal of the Week.

Rich:  In the comments section, you need to tell us if you agree with our choices.
 
Jack: Let’s start with Player of the Week. Liverpool’s Sadio Mane had a great game for Senegal against Kenya but we’re going to go with Megan Rapinoe. The American winger got both goals for the USA as they beat France to progress to the World Cup semi-finals.

Rich: The next award is for Team of the Week. We could go with Sweden who surprised Germany at the World Cup but we’re going to go with Peru at the Copa America. It’s good to see a couple of dark horses going well in these tournaments.

Jack: And finally our goal of the week. It goes to Germany’s Lina Magull who scored what I think is the goal of the World Cup so far. It was great control and an acrobatic finish but wasn’t enough for Germany who were knocked out by Sweden.

Matchweek Prediction 

Jack: Every week, Rich predicts the result of one big match. The Premier League season is over, but there is still plenty of football.

Rich: The Women’s World Cup continues as does the Copa America in Brazil and the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Jack: Two of this summer’s biggest tournaments are coming to an end this weekend; the Women’s World Cup and the Copa America. We’re recording this before the semi-finals so let’s say who we think will win.

Rich: OK, the Women’s World Cup: England will win it. They’ll beat the USA in the semi-final and then beat the Netherlands in the Final.

Jack: Not for me. The USA are the best team in the tournament and they will beat Sweden in the final.

Rich: OK, the Copa America: Brazil will beat Chile in the Final.

Jack: I don’t think so I think Chile will beat Argentina. Again. But not on penalties this time.

Rich: If you want to make your predictions or talk about this week’s football, we have lots of football and football vocabulary questions on the Premier Skills English website for you to answer.

Jack: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, don’t forget to leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Results

Women's World Cup Quarter-Finals

Norway 0-3 England

France 1-2 USA

Sweden 2-1 Germany

Italy 0-2 Netherlands

Copa America Quarter-Finals

Colombia 0-0 Chile (Colombia 5-4 on pens)

Uruguay 0-0 Peru (Peru won 5-4 on pens)

Brazil 0-0 Paraguay (Brazil won 4-3 on pens)

Venezuela 0-2 Argentina

Africa Cup of Nations

Kenya 0-3 Senegal

Tanzania 0-3 Algeria

Uganda 0-2 Egypt

Madagascar 2-0 Nigeria

(selected results)

Headlines

It's down to four in France

England beat Norway 3-0 in the quarter-finals.

The Women’s World Cup winners will be crowned in France this week. We’re down to the last four. England, the USA, the Netherlands and Sweden are the teams involved as we see who will come out on top.

Headlines

It's the semis in Brazil

Argentina take on Brazil on Wednesday.

The Copa America is also at the semi-final stage. The dark horses of the tournament, Peru, take on Chile in one semi-final and probably the most anticipated match of the summer, Argentina take on Brazil in the other semi.

Headlines

It's knockout time in Egypt

Liverpool's Sadio Mane runs away from Tottenham's Victor Wanyama at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations are over and now the teams will really get down to business in the knockout stages. Liverpool’s Sadio Mane has been in great form for Senegal and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has ignored the recent rumours of a possible transfer to bag his first-ever tournament goal for Ivory Coast.

Vocabulary Alert

Football English

We looked at six pieces of football English that you can learn to improve your English. Take a look at the phrases in bold. Do you understand what they mean?

Watch it live and exclusive on TVsports to see who comes out on top.

We described Peru as the dark horses in the Copa America as nobody expected them to reach the semi-finals.

Brazil take on Argentina in the first semi-final and  it's probably the most anticipated match of the summer.

The group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations are over and now the teams will get down to business in the knockout stages.

Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha has ignored the recent rumours of a possible transfer to bag his first-ever tournament goal for Ivory Coast.

Sweden surprised Germany in the quarter-finals and are the dark horses in the tournament.

Can you use the words in bold in a different sentence? Write a sentence at the bottom of the page. If you're not sure, listen to the audio for more explanations and examples.

Matchweek Awards

Do you agree with our choices?

Player of the Week: Megan Rapinoe (USA)

Team of the Week: Peru

Goal of the Week: Lina Magull (Germany)

Peru have surprised a few in Brazil.

The Big Match

Women's World Cup: Semi-Final 1: England v USA Semi-Final 2: Sweden v the Netherlands

Copa America: Semi-Final 1: Brazil v Argentina Semi-Final 2: Peru v Chile

The Premier League season has finished but the football season isn't over. In the podcast, Rich and Jack predicted the winner of the Copa America and the Women's World Cup. Who do you think will come out on top?

Megan Rapinoe captains the USA. The Americans are the favourites to win the World Cup.

Five Questions

What do you think?

Jack and Rich have spoken about This Week in football. Now it's your turn! Have a look at the questions and write your answers in the comments section below.

  1. Is women's football becoming more popular in your country? Are there professional women's teams in your country?
  2. Do you agree with our choices for Player/Team/Goal of the Week?
  3. Who is going to come out on top in the Women's World Cup? Who will come out on top in Copa America? Will you be watching?
  4. Which football matches have you watched this week?
  5. Use this week's vocabulary: What's the most anticipated match in your country? Do you think it's good for a tournament when a dark horse does well?

Let's get the conversation started and create a community!

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Comentários

hsn's picture
hsn
27/01/2022
TR
5560
points

What do you think?
1. Not enough but a visible progress is being made in this field. There is a league for women football teams.
Phrases
• Now all the corruptions of ex-minister are going to come out by this newly issued book.
• A high annual profit had been anticipated for this year but pandemic over turned all the expectations.
• After a very long time holiday the lazy staffs desire another one without to get down work.
• It's surprising when an unpredicted person come out as criminal at the business end of movies.
• Politicians should have to get down to business to solve country problems instead of quarrelling about nonsense topics.


hsn's picture
hsn
27/01/2022 17:49
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

What do you think?
1. Not enough but a visible progress is being made in this field. There is a league for women football teams.
Phrases
• Now all the corruptions of ex-minister are going to come out by this newly issued book.
• A high annual profit had been anticipated for this year but pandemic over turned all the expectations.
• After a very long time holiday the lazy staffs desire another one without to get down work.
• It's surprising when an unpredicted person come out as criminal at the business end of movies.
• Politicians should have to get down to business to solve country problems instead of quarrelling about nonsense topics.

englishman
09/07/2019
DZ
1734
points

I hope to Algerian team that they will win the cup !!!!!!!!!!


englishman
09/07/2019 10:38
Algeria
Manchester City
1734

I hope to Algerian team that they will win the cup !!!!!!!!!!

Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
06/07/2019
BR
615
points

Women's football is still starting to become popular and there are few professional women's teams in Brazil. Now Conmebol has imposed that every south American (men's) team, to participate in our continental championship, must have a women's team and I hope this can increase the level of our teams and players.

I agree with our choices but after the semifinals, I would change for Gabriel Jesus as the Player of the Week and Roberto Firmino's 2nd Brazilian goal as the Goal of the Week, keeping Peru as the Team of the Week.

It's almost always fun when a dark horse does well in a tournament. Then, I'd prefer to see the Netherlands winning the Women's World Cup, and Peru playing their best football against Brazil.


Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
06/07/2019 13:24
Brazil
Tottenham Hotspur
615

Women's football is still starting to become popular and there are few professional women's teams in Brazil. Now Conmebol has imposed that every south American (men's) team, to participate in our continental championship, must have a women's team and I hope this can increase the level of our teams and players.

I agree with our choices but after the semifinals, I would change for Gabriel Jesus as the Player of the Week and Roberto Firmino's 2nd Brazilian goal as the Goal of the Week, keeping Peru as the Team of the Week.

It's almost always fun when a dark horse does well in a tournament. Then, I'd prefer to see the Netherlands winning the Women's World Cup, and Peru playing their best football against Brazil.

elghoul's picture
elghoul
06/07/2019
DZ
3988
points

1. No professional women team in Algeria until now. We have some women who struggle to practice football but minds are still not changing.

2. I would agree of course but I must say that I have never seen Peru playing in live nor the goal scored by Lina Magull.

3. Nederlands and USA did come out in final for the women title and Brazil will take for the second time Peru in the South American Cup.

4. Yesterday I have watched Morocco being eliminated on kicks off after added time tie against Benin.  

5. I think the most anticipated matches are the knocks out stages on AFCON involving Algerian National team, the Greens or the Desert Foxes  as most journalists or Africaners prefer  calling them.

 


elghoul's picture
elghoul
06/07/2019 11:26
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

1. No professional women team in Algeria until now. We have some women who struggle to practice football but minds are still not changing.

2. I would agree of course but I must say that I have never seen Peru playing in live nor the goal scored by Lina Magull.

3. Nederlands and USA did come out in final for the women title and Brazil will take for the second time Peru in the South American Cup.

4. Yesterday I have watched Morocco being eliminated on kicks off after added time tie against Benin.  

5. I think the most anticipated matches are the knocks out stages on AFCON involving Algerian National team, the Greens or the Desert Foxes  as most journalists or Africaners prefer  calling them.

 

Tee
05/07/2019
JP
309
points

I couldn't get "anticipated" n "to bag" mean.


Tee
05/07/2019 02:19
Japan
Manchester City
309

I couldn't get "anticipated" n "to bag" mean.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6578
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5560
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74679
2Ukraine33892
3Spain29525
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23661
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20460
8Turkey20111
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United147000
2Liverpool111527
3Chelsea90265
4Arsenal86299
5Manchester City58957
6Tottenham Hotspur19506
7Newcastle United10626
8West Ham United7701
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Crystal Palace4568

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Improve your football English.

Practise your listening skills.

Make your prediction for next week's big match.