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Every day during the World Cup, the languagecaster team explain a football phrase or cliché connected to this summer’s tournament. Click on the link below to hear the word or phrase and you can also read the transcript. You can find many more examples by going to our football phrase page here football clichés here and our huge football glossary here.

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Today’s World cup phrase is to implode. Maybe most students of English have heard of explode, like a bomb, an explosion. Implode is a word used to describe a team, or team performance that is so bad it damages the chances of the team, it causes them to destroy their own chances – they collapse inwards. No prizes for guessing which team has imploded at this World Cup, France. Anelka sent home for swearing at the manager, captain Evra fighting with the coaching staff, players refusing to train and terrible, disjointed performances on the pitch. France imploded. They destroyed their chances and are now heading home early. To implode.