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We continue our reviews of the first round of matches from the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine by looking at the group of death: Group B. You can listen to the report by clicking on the link below, while vocabulary support (in bold) appears at the foot of the report. There is also a worksheet (see left) for learners who wish to improve their English.
The Good
Dubbed the Group of Death due to all four teams being in FIFA‘s top ten rankings, many had feared that Group B would be a tense affair with defences dominating. However, this was a group full of quality players all battling to make the knock-out stages, which lead to some wonderfully exciting games. Germany’s Gomez, Ozil and Schweinsteiger, Portugal’s Nani and of course Ronaldo, whose play against the Netherlands was one of the great individual performances at this tournament, Van de Vaart and Sneijder stood out for the Dutch, while Bendtner and Krohn-Dehli surprised many with their attacking play. Not so much the Group of Death and more like the Group of Excitement.
The Bad
The Ugly
Not so much ugly but rather ridiculous as UEFA fine Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner a‚¬100,000 and suspended him for one competitive match for wearing underpants that had advertising on them. Bendtner claimed not to realise that his underwear would provoke so much trouble and while the betting company that ‘sponsored’ the pants have paid the Dane’s fine the story has raised questions about the severity of the punishment when compared to that of racist chanting by fans. It seems that UEFA think that uncontrolled advertising is a bigger ‘crime’ than racism.
Download Worksheet Here
Vocabulary
Dubbed: Called, named
stood out: Played well, did well
had coasted through: Had easily qualified
were tipped by many: Had been predicted by many
lacklustre: They did not perform well, they had no spark (or shine)
albeit: Even though, although
faces the sack: Could lose his job (be fired)
fine: To make someone pay a financial penalty
provoke: Cause
Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here If you have any suggestions, contact us at admin@languagecaster.com
Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills
