Learn English Through Football

Welcome to the podcast for fans of football who wish to improve their English language skills. This week we take a look at the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and focus on the phrases ‘caretaker manager‘ and ‘comprehensive victory.’ You can read the transcript for the show in our post below (Damian = DF, Damon = DB).
Learn English Through Football Podcast: World Cup Qualifiers October 2016
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Transcript of the show
DF: You’re listening to languagecaster’s football podcast. Hello everybody, my name is Damian and I’m in a very sunny though slightly chilly London and hopefully Damon is there on the other end of the line in Tokyo, Japan. Damon, how are you doing?
DB: Very well indeed, Damian!
DF: Now today is Sunday and we are a little bit later than usual with the podcast as we wanted to see how the World Cup qualifiers were getting on and especially how the new England manager got on in his debut game in charge – the caretaker manager Gareth Southgate.
DB: Yes, lots of games going on around the world this week. There were games in Asia last Thursday – Japan managed to beat Iraq 2-1 with a late, late goal and Saudi Arabia and Australia played out a 2-2 draw among them.
DF: Yes, last Thursday also saw the first of six days of European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Perhaps the biggest game so far was the match in Turin between hosts Italy and Spain which finished 1-1 and this meant that the Italians have not lost a qualifying game at home in either European or World Cup qualifiers in 52 games – amazing.
DB: It is indeed amazing. Now, how did Ireland do?
DF: Well, Damon they managed to beat Georgia 1-0 at home but they were lucky to claim all three points. This is a tough group with Wales, Austria and Serbia all vying with Ireland to make the top spot and direct qualification for Russia 2018.
DB: Yes, lots of games still to come over the next couple of days for the European sides and this will be their third game (of 10) in the qualifying tournament. African teams, meanwhile, have started their qualification process this weekend – there are five groups of four teams and with only the winners going through to the finals this makes it very competitive indeed. In South America they’ve already been playing for a year and teams have played nine times in the league system they use to decide qualification there.
Line up
DF: Yes, Damon, loads of football going on around the world. Now, we will be looking at some of the stories that have emerged from those qualifiers in our football review of the week – that’s the good, the bad and the ugly. After that, we will be looking at a couple of football language phrases from the week including the p...