In this football language post we explain the word ‘tie‘ which is used as a verb and a noun and has different meanings in football. Don’t forget we have hundreds more explanations of football language in our football glossary and we also have a page full of football cliches. If you have questions or comments about this or any other phrase then email us at: admin@languagecaster.com.Football Cliche: Tie
The word ‘tie‘ is often used in football and refers to a different aspects of the game. First up, the verb ‘to tie‘ means to draw a game and this expression has come from US sports. So, for example, when we say that a game was tied we mean that there was no winner – the game finished as a draw, such as 1-1 or 2-2 or maybe a nil-nil bore draw! The noun form ‘a tie‘ can also be use to describe the draw; so for example, the game finished in a tie between the two rivals.
The other, more common, meaning of ‘tie‘ refers to a match, usually in a cup competition and can involve one or two games or legs. We can say, for instance, that the cup tie will be decided on penalties if the game ends in a draw or the tie will be won and lost in the midfield, which means that whichever team plays better in this area of the pitch should win the game.
Example: The tie between Real Madrid and Manchester City will involve two games: home and away legs.
Example: The FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Leeds finished with a home win.
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