Learn English Through Football Podcast: Tottenham 3-0 Arsenal May 2022

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In this football language podcast for learners of English, we look at some of the words and phrases from the recent North London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal from a report from the Guardian newspaper and in particular how they described the three Spurs goals, including the words, ‘flicked header‘; ‘converted penalty‘; ‘assured finish‘ and ‘stooping header‘. You can also read a transcript for this podcast 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.

Learn English Through Football Podcast: Tottenham 3-0 Arsenal May 2022

DF: Hello again everyone and welcome to Languagecaster.com – the football-language podcast for learners of English who love the beautiful game of football. I’m Damian and I’m here in a sunny London and I’m one half of the languagecaster team, the other member of course is Damon who’s based in Tokyo, Japan. Now, it’s the day after the North London derby so I am in a pretty good mood as my favourite team Spurs beat their rivals Arsenal last night by three goals to nil. Come on! So, on this podcast we look at some of the words and phrases from this game from a report from the Guardian newspaper and in particular how they described the three Spurs goals, including, ‘flicked header‘; ‘converted penalty‘; ‘assured finish‘ and ‘stooping header‘.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Spanish)

Converted penalty

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This is how the newspaper reported on the opening goal and they start by explaining that South Korean striker Son Heung-min caused continuous problems for the Arsenal defence; the phrase tormented the defence means he never let them relax at all throughout the game – he was clearly much better than them. This part of the report doesn’t mention the actual foul that gave away the penalty but highlights the fact that the striker made the defence suffer. To bully an opponent is another way of saying this though I am not sure that it was Son’s physical presence and much more to do with his speed and trickery. The penalty was scored by Kane (this was his 20th successful spot kick in a row) so we can say that he converted the penalty – he scored from the spot. We can also use converted with chances and opportunities – the forward converted the cross to open the scoring, for example.

Flicked Header/Stooping Header

This is how the Guardian newspaper described the second Tottenham goal which came from a set piece from Son and which was finished by Kane. Son’s corner was headed on (flicked on) by the Tottenham player Bentancur and this slight touch or flick changed the ball’s direction and so we can say that he flicked on the ball with his head – it was a flicked header. If a player flicks on the ball with their head from a corner it is quite difficult for the defenders to stop the ball as the direction or even the speed has been changed. In this case, the ball travelled through to the far post where Harry Kane was free and because the ball arrived to him quite low he bent down – he stooped – and headed the ball over the line. So, from the corner, the Spurs attacker’s flicked header was headed home with a stooping header.

Assured finish

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The description of the third goal has two parts: first, how the ball reached the Tottenham forward and then how he scored. If we say that the ball broke to a player it means that it has arrived at that player but probably not from a planned or deliberate pass from a team mate. Instead, it maybe hit a player and then rebounded into the path of that player as in this example when the ball rolled free after Kane lost possession and it broke for Son. The second part of the sentence describes the finish from Son; he lifted the ball so the defenders and the keeper could not save it and as he did this in a very deliberate manner we can say that it was an assured finish, a confident finish as the player knew exactly where he wanted to put or place the ball.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com. (in Greek)

Contact

Now, if you want to ask any football-language questions or simply say hi then you can do so by adding a comment on our site here, or by using our forum, by sending an email to us at admin@languagecaster.com. You can also look for us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Japanese).

Goodbye

DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster and that message was in Japanese and we’d love to hear from anyone else who might like to share this message, ‘you are listening to Languagecaster.com‘. And don’t forget that there’s a transcript to this podcast and lots of vocab support which you can access by coming along to our site here at languagecaster – a great resource for those learning the language and for those teaching the language.

OK, that’s it for this short football-language podcast in which we looked back (happily, looked back) at some of the language used in the North London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal and in particular the phrases, ‘flicked header‘; ‘converted penalty‘; ‘assured finish‘ and ‘stooping header‘. We’ll be back soon with more football language – it’s FA Cup weekend in England – and until then enjoy all the football. Bye bye.

Related Vocabulary

• To clinch
• Business end of the season
• North London derby 2019
• North London derby 2020
• North London Derby – Goal Blitz 2022

Football Language Glossary