Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:07 — 22.2MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Blubrry | Podchaser | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | Youtube Music | RSS | More
Learn English Through Football Podcast: To Be Drawn (2026 World Cup Draw)
In this week’s football-language podcast we look at some language from the 2026 World Cup draw that took place in Washington at the weekend and in particular we will explain the phrase, ‘to be drawn‘. We will also try and predict two big games this weekend: a top-of-the-table clash in Italy between Juventus and Napoli and Manchester City’s trip to Real Madrid. 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 are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.
DF: 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 and wet London – what is the weather like where you are?
Right, I hope you are all doing well and that you enjoyed the 2026 World Cup draw that took place this weekend in Washington DC in the USA. Was your country involved in the draw? And if so, are you happy with the draw? Do you think your team has a chance of doing well in the tournament – after the draw?
Now I wonder what the other member of the Learn English Through Football team Damon thinks about the draw? I wonder are Japan fairly happy with their draw and who they have been drawn against?
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Japanese)
DF: That message was in Japanese and you are listening to Languagecaster.com or as we are now known: The Learn English Through Football Podcast.
Now, Damon is not with us on this week’s podcast but he recently posted a football expression – to shin the ball – after Tottenham defender Cristian Romero shinned the ball into the net against Newcastle last week. I will take any kind of goal these days for Tottenham!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (an Olympiacos fan)
DF: Yes, on today’s show we will be looking at some of the language from the 2026 World Cup draw, including ‘to be drawn‘ and ‘drawn against‘, as well as ‘plotting routes‘. We also have a couple of big games from Europe in our predictions: Napoli host Juventus in Serie A, while on Wednesday Real Madrid host Manchester City in the Champions League.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from a Ghana fan)
DF: Right, that message we just heard was in Twi from Ghana and they will be playing in England’s group along with Croatia and Panama. As always, we will have some more stingers or messages throughout the show in different languages. How many will you be able to recognise? And yes, don’t worry, we’ll let you know the languages at the end of the show.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Swahili)
Football Language: To be Drawn
DF: OK, so as we know, the 2026 World Cup draw took place this weekend in Washington and we now know which teams will be playing each other in the tournament. Remember that there are 48 teams taking part in next year’s competition – though we still only know 42 of them as there are six places that need to be filled through a series of play-offs.
There are 12 groups: A-L and each group has four teams with the top two going through to the knock-out rounds along with eight of the best third-place teams in the groups. This means that after 72 group stage matches only 16 teams will be eliminated. That’s a lot of football next summer!
Now, how do we get these 12 groups of four? Well, this is what the draw does – it decides which teams will face each other. The groups have to be drawn – this means they have to be decided – and the most common way of doing this is by randomly selecting balls out of a bag.
First of all, the qualified teams are seeded into four different groups based on their FIFA ranking; so the best nine sides plus the three hosts are in Pot 1. Pot 1 is another way of saying Group 1 and this means that teams in this pot will not face each other in the group stages. We also have Pots 2, 3 and 4 and in each of these pots there are similarly ranked teams. And this means that the four teams in each group come from different pots – it’s like a form of seeding so that the strongest sides are not drawn against each other in the early rounds.
Teams are randomly drawn out of the bag (or sometimes we say, ‘drawn out of the hat‘) but there are some rules that have to be followed. For example, only one team from each Confederation can be in the same group (or only two when it comes to European teams).
Let’s have a look at how this phrase, ‘to be drawn‘ can be used when talking about deciding groups in major tournaments:
- To be drawn: So, the 2026 World Cup groups were drawn at the weekend; so we now know which teams are in which groups.
- To be drawn against: This phrase shows us which teams will play against each other; which teams will face each other. So, for example, Argentina have been drawn to play against Algeria, Austria and Jordan in Group J.
- To be drawn in Group L: So, England were drawn in Group L – they will play their three group stage matches in Group L along with Ghana, Panama and Croatia.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in French)
Football Language: To plot a route (to the final)
DF: Now, I have already mentioned that there are 48 teams taking part in the competition next summer and after the draw we can start to see not only the teams that countries have been drawn against in the group stage but also look ahead to the knock-out matches. For example, if a team finishes first in the group then they might play against the runners-up of another group or maybe even one of the best third-place finishers. It is not easy to predict but FIFA have put these groups into sections so as a bit of fun, you can try and see how your country might make it to the final in July! And this is known as plotting a route. This phrase is not really a football phrase as it usually explains how someone can find their way or direct themselves to a goal or objective. In the case of the World Cup, teams can now see a pathway or route to the final and it is great fun to try and predict which countries you will face on the way.
For example, my country Ireland are only in the play-offs but I have already plotted a route to the final. If we defeat Czechia in the semi-final of the play-offs in March and then beat either Denmark or North Macedonia in the final then we will play in Group A at the World Cup alongside hosts Mexico, South Korea and South Africa. And then if we qualify, maybe by coming second or third in the group, then we might end up playing Brazil and then… Well, you see what I mean – plotting a route to the final is great fun as dreaming is free!
Now, have you already looked at how your team might reach the final of the World Cup? Have you tried plotting a route to the final? Let us know how you think this might happen for your team.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Dutch)
Predictions
DF: OK, it’s time for predictions and this week we have two games to predict. First up we have Napoli against Juventus and then Manchester City’s trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Serie A: Napoli vs Juventus
DF: OK, the big game in Italy this weekend sees high-flying Napoli take on Juventus. Juventus are not playing so well at the moment so I think Napoli will have too much for Juventus; I think they’ll win this one 2-0.
Champions League: Real Madrid vs Manchester City
DF: The Champions League is back this week and Real Madrid take on Manchester City in a glamour tie; so a glamour tie is one that everyone wants to see. And normally these two sides play in the knock-out stages so there’s a lot of tension and a lot of edge but this time round in the Champions League group stage I don’t think either side will be going at it 100%. I think this will finish 1-1.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from a fan in Brazil)
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 be too good for their opponent? Let us know by coming along to our site or any of our social media sites and leave a comment and you can post a comment on our forum; it’s a really nice way to practise some of your writing. And of course you can leave a predictions voice note as well – we’d love to hear from you.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Danish)
Contact
DF: 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.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from a fan in Korea)
Goodbye
DF: Yes, you are listening to the Learn English Through Football podcast and that message was in Korean. And we also heard Dutch, French, Twi from Ghana and Danish, as well as a fan from Brazil and we had a message in Swahili. 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, ‘to be drawn’ and ‘drawn against‘, as well as ‘plotting routes‘. How would you say these phrases in another language that you know? Tell us how football fans in your country have reacted to the draw.
Enjoy all the football this week – we’ll be back early next week with another weekly football expression. And we’d really appreciate it if you could share our site with your friends and give us ‘a like’ on your favourite podcast platform!
Enjoy all the football this week – Champions League is back! See you soon. Bye bye!
Related Links
- World Cup Draw
- Drawn against
- World Cup 2026: Qualify
Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills
https://languagecaster.com/football-language-glossary/
