Learn English Through Football

This football language podcast looks back at Day 5 of the 2020 European Championships. We discuss some phrases connected with Hummels’ own goal in Germany vs France. You can read a transcript for this podcast below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.
Across the Face of Goal – Football Language Podcast – Euro 2020: Day 5
DB: You’re listening to languagecaster.com’s football language Euro 2020 podcast. Hi everyone, this is Damon from the Learning English Through Football team. How are things with you? Well, I hope! Today, I’m looking back at Day 5 from Euro 2020. This was the group of death‘s turn and the there was a mouthwatering clash between Germany and France. I’ll be looking at some language from a description of the goal that decided that match. I’ll especially focus on – the face of goal, and to shin.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Hungarian).
The Face of Goal
DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster.com and that message was in Spanish. Right, let’s kick off and talk about Day 5’s football language, and a passage from a minute-by-minute report in the Guardian.
Let me read it first and then we can break it down and talk about some of the key phrases. Remember you can see a transcript, you can read the text, if you come along to languagecaster.com.
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So this is how the report describes France’s goal: “Pogba opened Germany up with a flipped crossfield pass to Hernandez on the left side of the area. He hammered the bouncing ball across the face of goal towards Mbappe, six yards out. Hummels got in front of Mbappe but couldn’t adjust his feet quickly enough and shinned it into the roof of his own net.”
First of all let’s talk about two passes that led to the own goal by Hummels. First Pogba opened Germany up, beat the defence, with a flipped crossfield pass. A flipped pass is not a common expression but a crossfield pass is. It means from one side of the pitch or field to the other, and that is what Pogba did, he flipped the play, reversed the play from right to left.
Then on the France’s left, Hernandez hammered a pass across the face of goal. Hammered means to hit really hard, and is usually used for a shot, but Hernandez’s cross was hit powerfully across the box, so the we can say it was hammered in or hammered across the box etc.
Across the Face of Goal
DB: The main phrase I would like to focus on is in this sentence – across the face of goal. The face of goal is the area in the six yard area just in front of the open net....