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Football and the World Cup

Lesson code: 1Z7V-Q3JF-7GHL INTERMEDIATE
British English

1 Warm-up
Do you like watching the World Cup? Why or why not?

2 The World Cup in numbers

Choose the best answer for each statement below. Then listen to the audio to check your answers.

1. The year the first World Cup was held: 1925 / 1930 / 1935
2. The number of teams at the first World Cup: 13 / 17 / 20
3. The number of people who watched the 2014 World Cup: 1.2 bn / 2.1 bn / 3.2 bn
4. The number of teams that will play at the 2026 tournament: 32 / 40 / 48
5. The average attendance at matches in 2014: 49,500 / 53,600 / 61,200
6. The age of the oldest person to score a goal at a World Cup: 42 / 46 / 50
7. The most goals that one player scored in a World Cup match: 4/5/6

3 Football nouns
Match the words to the pictures.

a whistle a football stadium a trophy a corner flag a football pitch the goal
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 Football and the World Cup
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4 Football and people

Match the people to what they do.

1. the captain a. is in charge of the game and makes sure the players obey the rules
2. the coach b. leads the team
3. a defender c. passes the ball to the strikers so they can score but also defends
4. the goalkeeper d. scores goals
5. a midfielder e. stands in the team's goal to stop the ball going in
6. a striker f. trains and organises the team
7. the referee g. tries to stop the other team from scoring goals

5 Playing the game

Complete the sentences below with the correct words.

a corner a goal kick a penalty

a red card a throw-in a yellow card

1. If a defender kicks the ball behind the goal, the other team get .
2. If a defender touches the ball with their hand in the goal area, the other team get .
3. If a player punches another player, they get .
4. If a player kicks the ball over the line at the side of the pitch, the other team get .
5. If a player fouls several others, they get .
6. If an attacker kicks the ball behind the goal, the other team get .

6 Football verbs
Complete the sentences below with the correct verbs.

dribble head mark pass

score shoot kick tackle

1. Oliver didn't kick the ball hard enough so it went straight to another player.
2. We need to another goal in the second half.
3. To get the ball from another player you have to them.
4. To the ball, players often have to jump in the air.
5. The team's striker is very fast and can easily past defenders.
6. Andy, the captain of the team closely to keep him out of the game.
7. It's unlikely you will score if you from the middle of the pitch.
8. Decide who you want to to before you kick the ball.
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 Football and the World Cup
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7 Quiz
Choose the best answer for the questions below.

1. Who were the first winners of the World Cup?

a. Brazil b. Argentina c. Uruguay

2. Which country has won the World Cup the most times?
a. Brazil b. Germany c. Italy

3. What happened to the trophy just before the 1966 World Cup?
a. It was damaged in a fire.
b. It was stolen.
c. It got put in a museum by mistake.

4. What were players not allowed to do at the 1986 World Cup?

a. spit on the ground b. show their tattoos c. swap their shirts

5. Which of these countries has played in the World Cup but has never won a match or scored a goal?
a. Canada
b. Thailand
c. Honduras

*FIFA is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association. The English translation is the International
Federation of Association Football.

8 True or False
Work in small teams. Decide if the statements below are true or false.

1. Argentina is the only country that has taken part in every World Cup.
2. The winning team will get $15 million.
3. The birth rate in Germany rose by 10% nine months after the 2006 World Cup.
4. The fastest goal in a World Cup was scored in 20 seconds.
5. Every team that has won the World Cup had a coach with a different nationality.
6. Iceland has a smaller population than any other country in the 2018 World Cup.

World Cup facts sources: www.wowphotos.com, www.roadtrips.com, www.fifa.com, www.forbes.com,

www.statista.com
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 Football and the World Cup - Transcripts
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2- The World Cup in numbers

The World Cup - an event like no other. In 2014 in Brazil, almost half the world's population
watched the tournament - that's 3.2 billion people, with 1 billion watching the final. Let's look at
some other facts and figures you might not know about the tournament. The first World Cup was
held in Uruguay in 1930, where just 13 teams took part. It is set to get much bigger in 2026, with
the number of teams competing in the finals rising from 32 to 48. A high number of fans went to
watch the teams in 2014. The average attendance at games was 53,600, compared to 49,500 in
South Africa in 2010. In the US during the 1994 competition, several records were broken in a
single match. Oleg Salenko of Russia scored five goals, the most ever in one game. At the age of
42, Roger Milla of Cameroon became the oldest ever player to score at a World Cup.

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 Football and the World Cup - Key
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1- Warm-up

Encourage a short discussion.

2- The World Cup in numbers

Play the audio file or use your mobile device to scan the QR code. (Make sure you have installed a QR code reader
app and can access the internet on your device). Play it twice if students request it.

1. 1930 2. 13 3. 3.2 bn 4. 48 5. 53,600 6. 42 7. 5

3- Football nouns

Answers Ex 1: 1. the goal 2. a football pitch, 3. a corner flag, 4. a trophy, 5. a whistle 6. a football stadium

4- Football and people

1. b 2. f 3. g 4. e 5. c 6. d 7. a

5- Playing the game

1. a corner 2. a penalty 3. a red card

4. a throw-in 5. a yellow card 6. a goal kick

6- Football verbs

2. score 3. tackle 4. head 5. dribble 6. mark 7. shoot 8. pass

7- Quiz

Exs. 6 and 7 can be played as team games, where each team gets a point or 'goal' for each correct answer.
1. c
2. a - Brazil have won five times, Italy and Germany both have four titles.
3. b - The trophy was stolen but was found under a bush by a dog named Pickles.
4. c - FIFA did not want players to show their bare chests on the field.
5. a

8- True or False

Go through the answers. Give each team one point or 'goal' for each correct answer. If there is a draw at the end
of the game, give them a tie-breaker question. For example: Q. How many footballs can you fit in a goal? A. 363

1. F - Brazil is the only country to have taken part in every World Cup.
2. T
3. T
4. F - The fastest goal was scored in 11 seconds by Hakan Sukur of Turkey in 2002.
5. F - Every team that has won had a coach of the same nationality.
6. T - They have a population of 334,000, smaller than any other country competing.
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