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- 100% recordWhen a team wins all of their games in a competition or tournament we say that they have a 100% record. For example, if a team wins all three of their group matches in a tournament we can say that they have a 100% record. More
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- 50-50 challengeA 50-50 challenge is a tackle when two players both go for the ball at the same time. Both players have the same possibility of winning the ball and so we say it is a '50-50 tackle' More
a
- Acres of spaceIf a player receives the ball with no opposing player near them, they are ‘in space' – they have time to move, pass or shoot. If a player has the ball and is in a lot of space, you can say they are in ‘acres of space‘. When this happens you... More
- Across the face of goalThe face of goal is the area in the six yard area just in front of the goal-line. You can also call this area the 'corridor of uncertainty'. When the ball travels across the goal - across the face of goal - it is often very difficult for the... More
- After Extra Time [AET]Extra time refers to the 30 minutes added to the regular 90 minutes in order to decide a game after a draw. In cup matches after extra time (aet) refers to the result when a game goes into extra time; so for example 3-2 (aet) means that a team... More
b
- B TeamThe B-team is not the first team but the second team. Players that are not quite good enough to play for the main or first team play for the B team. An alternative phrase is the 'reserve team'. Example: Many Premier League sides play their... More
- Becks
This is the nickname for England football player David Beckham. 'Becks' is a shortened form of Beckham.
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More c
- CageyTo be cagey means to be cautious and in football it describes when a team does not want to be too adventurous in their play; they don't want to attack too much in case the opposition counter attacks them. If you are cagey about something,... More
d
- Dark horseA dark horse in football is a team that has an outside chance of winning a competition or a cup. This team is not expected to win - it is not among the favourites - but if things go their way they might surprise people and win. More
e
- EliminateThe verb to eliminate is used to describe a situation when a team has been knocked out of a competition - the team is no longer involved in that competition. For example, 'Fiorentina eliminated Tottenham', while the passive form is also used... More
s
- Starting XIMost football teams have a squad of about 25 players but only 11 of these can start a game and so the team that a manager picks for a match is known as the starting XI. The phrase is sometimes written simply as XI in the media - in Latin, the... More
w
- Wipe the floor with If a team wipes the floor with another team it means that they have easily defeated or beaten them. The phrase suggests that the winning team is so much better than their opponents and that there is a real gap in ability between the two... More
y
- Yo-yo clubA yo-yo is a traditional toy, one that a child can play on their own by moving the yo-yo up and down a piece of string. If a team is known as a yo-yo club it means that they continuously move up and down between different divisions, for example,... More
z
- Zizou The nickname of French World Cup winner Zinadine Zidane. Example: Despite his sending off in the World Cup Final of 2006 Zizou's reputation of being a great player remains intact. More
- Zonal marking This is a system of defence that marks space rather than individual players. The opposite is man-to-man marking. Example: Rafa Benitez attempted to play a zonal marking system on his arrival at Liverpool but without much success. More
