Learn English Through Football Podcast: AFCON 2025 Preview

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Learn English Through Football Podcast: AFCON 2025 Preview

In this week’s football-language podcast we look forward to AFCON 2025 which starts this weekend in Morocco. We will look at some of the favourites, possible dark horses and minnows. We also predict the Learn English Through Football derby as Tottenham host Liverpool. You can read the 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 about the phrase or our podcast then you can contact us here.

Hello

DF: You’re listening to the Learn English through Football Podcast.

Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s football language podcast for learners of English who love the beautiful game of football. My name is Damian and I am in a cold but bright London and it is the week before Christmas so people are looking forward to taking a break. What’s the weather where you are listener? And how is the weather in Tokyo, Damon?

DB: Hi there Damian. Yes Christmas is just around the corner and it is suitably wintery here in Tokyo. Today is a bit cloudy with a chill in the air. Not a bad day for Christmas shopping.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Swahili)

DF: That message was in Swahili and yes, you are listening to Languagecaster.com or as we are now known: The Learn English Through Football Podcast. What do we have on the show today Damon?

DB: Well Damian, on today’s show we will be looking at the African Cup of Nations, or AFCON, and some of the language connected with football competitions, including ‘dark horse‘. After that, we’ve got two matches for our predictions. The opener, the first game, at AFCON and the Learn English Through Football derby, Tottenham versus Liverpool. Can’t wait!

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Bemba)

DF: Right, that message we just heard was in Bemba from a fan from Zambia and of course Zambia will be taking part in this year’s AFCON tournament in Morocco. Zambia are in Group A along with the hosts, the Comoros and Mali. We’ll be hearing from more football fans in different languages throughout the show – I wonder how many will you be able to recognise? Don’t worry, we’ll let you know the languages at the end of the show.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Chichewa from a fan in Malawi)

DB: Right, let’s kick off with our focus on football language and AFCON. Here’s Damian.

Football Language: AFCON 2025

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DF: Right, the main focus of today’s football-language show will be on AFCON 2025, which starts this weekend in Morocco. Before we look at the favourites, dark horses and minnows let’s have a look at some of the numbers around this year’s tournament.

There will be 24 teams taking part in this year’s tournament and they will be divided into six groups of four. This means that the top two from each group will qualify for the knock-out rounds along with the four best third-place teams – so that’s the last 16.

This is the first time that Morocco have hosted the tournament since 1988 – actually, I was in Morocco at the time and remember watching some of the games in cafes with some very excited fans. Morocco finished fourth in that tournament with Cameroon winning it after defeating Nigeria in the final. I wonder will the Indomitable Lions do it again this time round?

OK, let’s have a look at the venues. Morocco has invested in lots of new stadiums for the upcoming 2030 World Cup and they have nine stadiums in six different cities for this tournament which is a far cry from the 1988 edition which only had two stadiums for the two groups of four teams involved.

Favourites

I know that trying to pick a winner before any tournament or competition is difficult but I think trying to do this before an AFCON is even trickier as the quality of the teams is so high and anyone could win it. Remember, that there have been seven different winners in the past eight tournaments. Anyway, let’s take a look at some of the favourites:

The hosts Morocco have won 18 consecutive matches – that’s a record – and they are among the hot favourites to win only their second AFCON title. They finished 4th in the last World Cup, have a great manager and a team full of wonderful players including Hakimi, for example so surely they have to be the favourites to win for the first time since 1978.

Algeria and Egypt will also be expected to do well – they both went through World Cup qualification unbeaten. Can Mo Salah finally win an AFCON after twice losing in a final? Other teams tipped to do well, include Senegal who won the AFCON in 2021 and impressively qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while they also beat England away last year in a friendly. The defending champions Ivory Coast should also be expected to do well after going undefeated through their World Cup qualifiers, while Nigeria will be desperate to win after not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. And they will be strong going forward especially with an attack that includes Lookman, Iwobi and of course, Osimhen.

Dark Horses

So, a dark horse in a tournament is a team that is not among the main favourites to win but with a bit of luck and some good form could do really well in a competition. DR Congo will be one of the dark horses; recently they knocked out Cameroon and Nigeria to qualify for a world Cup play-off, while they also reached the semi-finals at the last AFCON, so keep an eye out for the DR Congo.

Other sides that could do well in this year’s tournament include South Africa but also Burkina Faso who have made three semi-finals in the past five tournaments. And don’t forget about Gabon who had a strong World Cup qualifying campaign before losing out to Nigeria in a play-off – I think they might cause a few upsets

Minnows

The lowest-ranked team at the tournament is Botswana who are 138th in the world and they will not be expected to get out of their group which includes DR Congo and Senegal. Zimbabwe failed to win any of their ten World Cup qualifying matches and they are in a group with Egypt and South Africa; so it would be a huge surprise if they made it to the qualifying rounds.

What about you? What teams do you think will win the 2025 AFCON? How about a dark horse? Who do you think might surprise us? Let us know here at Learn English through Football.com.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in French)

Predictions

DF: OK, let’s move on to the predictions this week and of course it is the Learn English Through Football derby; that’s when Damon’s favourite team Liverpool travel to play my favourite team Tottenham this weekend. Let’s hear what Damon has to say.

Premier League: Tottenham vs Liverpool

DB: Well, I’m more positive about Liverpool’s chances after two back-to-back wins for Liverpool. 1-0 away at Inter in the Champions League and a comfortable 2-0 win over Brighton at Anfield. But away from home has not been great this season, so I am a bit nervous about travelling, and travelling to London especially. We’ve lost to Brentford, Chelsea, and Crystal Palace in the capital.

I’m expecting goals – there have been 21 in the last three league games between Spurs and The Reds, most of them scored by Liverpool. While Tottenham have not been in great form, I’m expecting them to raise their game with the visit of Liverpool. They will also fancy their chances against us, as we have been very fragile this season. I think it will be decided by who scores first. Hopefully that’s Liverpool and we win 2-0. Damian.

DF: Well, I had a very bad feeling about this as there is a bad vibe – bad feeling – around Spurs at the moment. We also have a bad record against Liverpool – we were thrashed 6-3; 5-1 and 4-0 last season – and we have a terrible home record this season. I went for a 2-1 home defeat and unfortunately, I was right as Spurs caused their own downfall with two silly sending offs; two silly red cards. So, well done Liverpool and of course well done to Damon. .

AFCON 2025: Morocco vs Comoros

DF: What about the opening game of the AFCON 2025 tournament? here’s Damon again

DB: OK, the Atlas Lions, Morocco, take on Comoros, and on paper this should be a win for the hosts. However, they have the weight of expectation on their shoulders. Their fans and the whole Moroccan nation expect them to do well, so they will be under pressure to perform.

Comoros, on the other hand, come into the game as underdogs. I had a little look at their form and was surprised to see that they beat Ghana 1-0 in the World Cup qualifiers, so they are no pushovers. They are defensively strong and pose a threat on the counter, so will be tricky opponents. Still, it would be a big shock if the beat or even drew with Morocco. I’m going to go for a nervy 1-0 win to Morocco. How about you Damian?

DF: Yeah, I think it should be a comfortable home win for the hosts. Maybe 2-0.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (a football from Sudan) 

DF: And how about practising your predictions language with us? What do you think will happen in any games that you are watching this week? What do you reckon will happen? Will your team have too much for their opponents? Let us know by coming along to our site or on any of our social media sites – you can find us on Facebook; on X; on Instagram and many more.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (a fan in Cameroon)

Contact

DB: And of course, don’t forget, we have a huge glossary of football terms, with hundreds of expressions, phrases, and clichés about the beautiful game of football. And remember also to tell a friend about us and give us ‘a like’ on your favourite podcast platform!

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (a fan from Tanzania) 

Goodbye

DF: Yes, you are listening to the Learn English Through Football podcast and that message was from a fan in Tanzania – they will be in Group C with Nigeria, Tunisia and Uganda. And we also heard Bemba from a Zambian fan, French, and fans from Sudan, Cameroon and Malawi.

So, well done if you got any of those correct and remember you can add a message by sending us a recording for the Learn English Through Football podcast – we’d love to hear from you.

Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.

DF: Right, let us know if you hear or see any of the phrases or words that we have talked about on this week’s show, including, ‘dark horses‘ and ‘minnows‘. Also, how would you say these phrases in another language that you know? Drop us a line at contact@learnenglishthroughfootball.com. And we’d love to hear from you.

DB: Enjoy all the football this week – we’ll be back early next week with another weekly football expression. Ta-ra.

DF: Bye bye!

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Damon Brewster and Damian Fitzpatrick

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