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On this football language podcast for learners of English, we look at some of the words and phrases from the 2022 Women’s Euros semi finals match between Germany and France. We look at some football phrases used in a Guardian report on the game, including: ‘Fire past’, ‘set up’ and ‘double’. You can read the transcript for this podcast below, and you can also access our massive 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.
Learn English Through Football Podcast: 2022 Women’s Euros – Germany vs France: Fire Past
DB: Hi there everyone and welcome to Languagecaster.com – the football-language podcast for learners of English who love the beautiful game of football. My name is Damon, one half of the Languagecaster team; Damian, is based in London and is right in the middle of the 2022 Women’s European Championships. I’m based in Tokyo, where it is a little more difficult to follow the competition, but I’ve been doing my best.
Today, from a hot and humid Japan, I’m going to take a look at a headline in The Guardian from yesterday’s second semi final clash between Germany and France.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in German)
Yes, you are listening to languagecaster and that message was in German. So, let’s take a look at the headline and then discuss some of the football language related to it and the cracking game between Germany and France, which of course finished 2-1 to the Germans.
So, here’s the headline: “Popp double fires Germany past France to set up Wembley final with England”
Double
Alexandra Popp is Germany’s captain and a striker and in this game she scored two goals, so we have Popp double – double meaning two goals. We could also say ‘brace‘ in this situation. A brace is also two goals, so Pops brace would be an option.
Talking of how to describe more than one goal we have double or brace for two, and, of course hat trick for three. And then you might want to say ‘hatful‘ for more than three: a hateful of goals could be four, five or more.
Fire Past
Next, we’ve got ‘to fire past‘ – Popp double fires Germany past France. To fire, in this context means to move, spark, give energy to, allow. To fire past means to move past or send past, so we could say Popp double sends Germany past France; the brace allows Germany to continue in the tournament while France are knocked out. Notice that the direct object ‘Germany’ comes between ‘fires‘ and ‘past‘ – fires Germany past.
When we use ‘past‘ we refer to the beaten team – past France. We could also use ‘into‘ with the name of the next stage of the tournament, so fires Germany into the final.
Set up
Now, the next phrase in the headline has already been discussed by Damian in an earlier podcast on France’s game against The Netherlands. France’s win in that game set up a meeting with Germany. To set up means to create or arrange. And in this match, Germany’s win sets up a final with, or against, England.
We could also use a phrase like book a place in the final to mean the same thing.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (French)
Thank you for that message in French! Right, let’s go back to the headline: “Popp double fires Germany past France to set up Wembley final with England“.
The German captain, Popp scores a brace, two goals, for Germany which allow the team to continue in the tournament. The double fires Germany past France. This win books a place in the final where they will face, play, England – the win sets up a final against England.
Contact
Now, if you want to ask any football-language questions or simply say hello then you can do so by adding a comment on our site here at languagecaster.com or by using our forum. You can also send us an email at admin@languagecaster.com and you can also look out for us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Goodbye
DB: Right, that’s it for this short football-language podcast. We’ll be back soon with more football language from the final and maybe also from the curtain raiser for the English Premier League season, the Community Shield. Until then enjoy all the football, especially the final this weekend. Ta ra.
Related Vocabulary
- 2022 Women’s Euros: France vs Netherlands
- 2022 Women’s Euros: England vs Spain
- (to) Book a place in
- (a) Brace
Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills
