This post explains 
the football phrase ‘Down to ten men’ which is often used when a player has been injured or sent off.
- Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below.
- You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.
Down to ten men
There are 11 players on a football team and if one of these players is sent off or injured then you might hear the phrase ‘down to ten men‘ being used. This might be for a short period of time if a player is injured and the team is waiting for the substitute to come on to the pitch or it might be longer and more permanent as a player has been sent off. In the recent Confederations Cup group match between Germany and Cameroon the African champions went down to ten men in the second half and eventually lost the game 3-1. Down to ten men.
Example: Crystal Palace boss Allardyce felt Manchester City should have been down to ten men in the second half (Croydon Examiner: Jan 28th 2017)
Why is the word “men” used here instead of “players”? Can I say “down to ten players”?
Chelsea men.
Chelsea players. Or perhaps any difference?
Hello Sandarakis,
Thanks for the question.
I think we would say ‘down to ten‘ or ‘down to ten players‘. We have opened a forum topic on this issue here