The football language glossary is a page with a huge selection of football words, phrases and vocabulary that are organised in alphabetical order – it is like a football dictionary. You can find all kinds of football cliches, expressions and technical terms, as well as a variety of categories about many football-related subjects: transfers, football nicknames, match-day language, managers and much more.
A
- Acres of space: If a player receives the ball with no opposing player near them, they are ‘in space‘ – they have time to move, pass or shoot. If a player has the ball and is in a lot of space, you can say they are in ‘acres of space‘. When this happens you usually expect the player to make a great pass or have a shot on goal. More
- Across the face of goal: The face of goal is the area in the six yard area just in front of the goal-line. You can also call this area the corridor of uncertainty. Defenders and goalkeepers hate crosses across the face of goal, in the corridor of uncertainty, as they are difficult to stop. More
- Acute angle: When an attacking player is trying to shoot but is forced wide by the defence the space for this player to shoot narrows and it becomes more difficult to score. You use the phrase ‘an acute angle‘ to describe the fact that the space is narrow or tight. More
- Add some steel
- Adrift
- (to) Advance
- (a great) Advert for the game
- AFCON
- After extra time (AET)
- Against the run of play
- (on) Aggregate
- Agree a deal
- All (e.g. two all)
- (to be) All over a team
- (to be) All over the place
- All to play for
- Angled drive
- Apertura
- Apiece
- (to) Appoint a new manager
- As it stands
- Assistant referee
- Assist
- (to be) At it
- Atlantic League
- (to be) At sixes and sevens
- (to be) At stake
- (to/an) Attack
- Attacker
- Attacking flair
- Attendance
- At the end of the day
- (to) Avoid the drop
- Award a penalty
- Away goals
- (to be) axed
- Azzurri
B
- B-team
- Back foot
- Back four
- Backs to the wall
- Back pass
- Back to back (victories)
- Back with a bang
- A Bad day at the office
- Bafana Bafana
- Ball
- Ball hog
- Ball to hand
- Ballon d’Or
- Balloon over (the bar)
- Ball watching
- Ban
- Basque derby
- Battling for survival
- BBC
- (to) Beat a player
- (the) Beautiful game
- (to) Be in the bag
- Behind closed doors
- (to be) Below par
- Between the sticks
- (to) Be up for it
- (to) Be drawn against
- (to) Be sidelined
- ‘Becks‘
- Bench
- Beyond the pale
- Bicycle kick
- Bid
- Big ask
- Blast
- Blatant penalty
- Blaze over the bar
- Blinder
- (to) Blow away
- (to) Blow a chance
- (to) Blow a lead
- (to) Blow wide open
- Blunder
- Blushes are spared
- Bogey team
- (to) Bomb forward/on
- (to) Book a place in
- (to be) Booked
- (a) Booking
- (to get the) Boot
- (to) Boss the game
- (to) Bottle
- (to) Bounce back
- Bouncebackability
- (to) Bow out
- Boxing Day fixtures
- Box-to-box midfielder
- (a) Brace
- Bragging rights
- (to) Break a hoodoo
- (to) Break the bank
- (to) Break the deadlock
- (to) Break the offside trap
- Breakaway goal
- (to) Break down a defence
- (to be on the) Brink
- (to be) Brought down to Earth
- (to) Brush aside
- Buffet ball
- (to be) Bullish
- (a) Bullet header
- (to) Bully an opponent
- Bundesliga
- (to) Bundle
- (to) Bundle home
- (to) Bury (the ball)
- (the) Business end of the season
- Buy a goal (Can’t buy a goal)
- By the letter of the law
- By the skin of their teeth
- Byline