This post explains the football term ‘minnow’, which is used to describe a team which is not expected to win any of its matches. Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below and you can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.

(a) Minnow

minnow A small team from a lower league or a small country; an underdog; a team with few resources; a team that doesn’t have a long tradition of playing football. Literally a minnow is a small fish.
  • Example: Hastings goalkeeper Matt Armstrong-Ford spoke of his “best night in football” as the non-league minnows booked an FA Cup third-round trip to Middlesbrough.
  • Example: (headline) ‘England cruise to win against San Marino minnows

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More Vocabulary

  • European Minnows
  • .

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    Football ClichesEpisode 108