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Learn English Through Football Podcast: Missed Penalty (AFCON 2025)
In this week’s football-language podcast we look back at the AFCON final between hosts Morocco and Senegal and discuss language around missed penalties. 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
DB: You’re listening to the Learn English through Football Podcast. Hello there and welcome to this week’s football language podcast. My name’s Damon and I’m one half of the Learn English through Football team. The other is member of the team is Damian, who is in a cold and wet London. In Tokyo, it is cold and sunny, so no rain but very chilly winds.
I’ve just been watching highlights of Liverpool’s match against Bournemouth. Another underwhelming performance from my team Liverpool. Also, like Damian, I watched the dramatic AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal last weekend – congratulations to Senegal on their dramatic win and we’ll be looking at some language from that game a little later on.
I also saw lots of Champions League football during the week and there were lots of shocks: holders PSG were beaten in Portugal; losing 2-1 to Sporting, while Manchester City lost 3-1 in Norway to Bodo Glimt.
Damian must be happy that his favourite team, Tottenham, won their fourth home game in a row in this competition when they defeated Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund 2-0. They will be playing knock-out football in the Champions League this spring yet we are also facing a possible relegation battlein the Premier League. Liverpool are also doing well in the Champions League, a comfortable 3-0 away win at Marseille mid-week, but they can’t buy a win in the Premier League!
Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English through football podcast.com (a Hull City fan)
DB: Yes, that message was from a fan of Hull City and yes, you are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast. OK, what football language is on today’s show?
On the Show
DB: On today’s show we’re going to talk about some of the language from the AFCON final between Senegal and home side Morocco and give our predictions for the Arsenal v Man United Sunday match in the Premier League.
But before that, here is another stinger, message. We’ve already had one from a Hull City fan, but do you know what language the next one is in? We will have several of these throughout the show – how many languages can you get correct? We’ll have the answers at the end of the show.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Hindi)
DB: Next up – football language!
2025 AFCON Final: Missed Penalty
DB: Right, over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at some of the language from the 2025 AFCON tournament, including the phrase, ‘rode their luck‘ and today we are going to look at some language from the final and in particular about that penalty miss.
We will focus on three football phrases or words: last-gasp penalty, Panenka, and to dink.
Last-Gasp Penalty
DB: In the AFCON final, Morocco, the hosts, were awarded a last‑gasp penalty. This is a penalty, or spot‑kick, given right at the end of the match, deep into stoppage time. Senegal briefly walked off in protest at the decision, and the atmosphere was extremely chaotic. When play finally resumed, Brahim Díaz — Morocco’s top scorer in the tournament — had the chance to win the trophy with the very last kick of normal time.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Swedish)
Panenka
DB: And this brings us to our next phrase: Díaz’s weakly attempted Panenka. A Panenka is a soft chipped penalty designed to fool the keeper, and it is named after the player Antonín Panenka. He used this technique in the 1976 European Championship final to win the match for Czechoslovakia. However, a Panenka only works if the keeper dives. Under huge pressure and after a long delay, Díaz’s attempt lacked height and power, making it an easy catch for goalkeeper Mendy.
This is a description from Sky Sport: ‘Diaz, who was the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals, saw his weakly attempted Panenka penalty saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy as Morocco spurned the chance of a first continental title in 50 years.‘
(to) Dink
DB: Another way to describe Díaz’s attempt is to say he dinked it down the middle. A dink is a delicate, soft chip of the ball. Díaz’s Penenka or dink down the middle failed, the game went into extra time and Senegal ran out 1-0 winners.
Here is the BBC describing the moment: ‘The Real Madrid forward slowed as he approached the ball and dinked the ball down the middle but goalkeeper Edouard Mendy didn’t move, comfortably caught it and the game went to extra time with Senegal emerging victorious.‘
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Tagalog)
Predictions: Arsenal v Manchester United
DB: OK, time to move on to our prediction for this week, and we’re looking at Arsenal, league leaders, against Manchester United. The Red Devils had some new manager bounce when they beat derby rivals Manchester City 2-0 under the caretaker manager and ex-player Michael Carrick.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Welsh)
DB: Damian thinks that league leaders Arsenal should have enough for Manchester United despite the Red Devils new manager and wonderful victory over their Manchester rivals last weekend. He reckons Arsenal will win this 2-0.
I think this could be a pretty good game for the neutral and I can see a 2-2 draw. I’ve got a feeling that Arsenal will get a bit nervous the closer they get to the end of the season, and Manchester United might be able to take advantage of that. Listener, what do you think? An easy win for Arsenal, an exciting draw, or something else?
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (Persian)
Contact
DB: And remember, our website has a huge glossary of football terms, with hundreds of expressions, phrases, and clichés about the beautiful game of football. Tell a friend about us and give us ‘a like’ on your favourite podcast platform!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (a Beşiktaş fan)
And well done if you got any of the stingers in different languages throughout the show. We started with a Hull City fan, followed by a message in Hindi. After that we had Swedish, Tagalog, Welsh and Persian. And they were before that final message from a Beşiktaş fan. Well done if you got any of those correct!
Remember, you can add a message in your language by sending us a recording for the Learn English Through Football podcast – we’d love to hear from you. Just record, you are listening to the Learn English Through Football podcast in your language and send it to contact@learnenglishthroughfootball.com.
Goodbye
DB: 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. How might you say them in another language that you know? Ta-ra!
Related Links
Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills
https://languagecaster.com/football-language-glossary/
