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Football Language: Angled Drive

In this football language post for learners of English we look at the football expression ‘angled drive‘ which is a type of shot on goal. You can also read the transcript for this post 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 then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.

Angled Drive

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There were two similar goals in the recent UEFA Nations League matches involving two players who ply their trade in the Premier League: Manchester City player João Cancelo scored with an angled drive for Portugal against the Czech Republic, while Aston Villa defender Matt Cash did the same for Poland against the Netherlands. An angled drive is a shot on goal that a player takes when approaching from one side of the goal rather than directly in front of it. So, a player can cut in from the right side and even though there is less space to shoot at (an acute or tight angle), they fire in a shot. To beat the keeper from this angle, the shot needs to be hit very hard and straight and this is an angled drive – drive suggests the power of the shot. Other expressions that describe how hard a shot is hit include fire the ball and hit the ball cleanly. Angled drive.

  • Example: She came agonisingly close to capping her full debut with what would have been a memorable goal, but the crossbar intervened to deny her angled 25-yard drive. (Englandfootball.com)
  • Example: Louis van Gaal’s side dominated for long periods but fell behind to Matty Cash’s angled drive from 20 yards. (BBC.co.uk, June 12 2022)
  • Example: …with Fabinho’s low, angled drive beating Geronimo Rulli at his near post (Mirror.co.uk, May 4 2022)

Related Vocabulary

Learn English Through Football Podcast
Learn English Through Football Podcast
Damian Fitzpatrick

Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills

Welcome to the website that helps students interested in football improve their English language skills. Soccer fans can enhance these skills with lots of free language resources: a weekly podcast, football phrases, explanations of football vocabulary, football cliches, worksheets, quizzes and much more at languagecaster.com.

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Further reading

Newspaper Headline: Christmas No 1

Newspaper Headlines: Christmas No 1

In this football language post we explain the newspaper headline, 'Christmas No 1' from the Independent newspaper about Liverpool being top