Know Your Soccer Vocabulary for the 2022 World Cup

If you are getting excited about the World Cup, now is the time to brush up on your soccer-related vocabulary in some of the world's popular languages.

Whether you are going to Qatar, or you just want to be able to chat with fellow soccer enthusiasts about free kicks, penalty kicks, and other soccer terms, we've got you covered.

In this post, not only will you learn 20 basic soccer-related phrases in 9 popular languages, but you will also learn how to celebrate when your team wins or when your favorite players score goals.

Later in this post, we will provide useful phrases in Arabic specifically for getting around Qatar and chatting to the locals about the soccer World Cup.

Basic Soccer Vocab: 20 Essential Phrases

Here is a list of 20 useful and commonly-used words and phrases related to soccer. We will provide translations in 9 popular languages: French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Arabic.

Now, you can get started learning soccer vocab in time for the World Cup in whichever language you choose.

This will allow you to join in conversations with the online football community and communicate with football fans from all around the world in person if you are lucky enough to attend some of the games.

1. Soccer Ball

French: Ballon de football
Spanish: Balón/ pelota de fútbol
Italian: Pallone da calcio
Portuguese: Bola de futebol
German: Fußball
Russian: Futbol'nyi myach (футбольный мяч)
Korean: Cook gong (축구 공)
Japanese: Sacker boru (サッカーボール)
Arabic: Kara al-qudam (كرة القدم)

2. Football Pitch

French: Terrain de football
Spanish: Campo de fútbol
Italian: Campo da calcio
Portuguese: Campo de futebol
German: Fußballplatz
Russian: Futbol'noe pole (футбольное поле)
Korean: Cook gyeonggijang (축구 경기장)
Japanese: Sacker ba (サッカー場)
Arabic: Melaab kara alqadam (ملعب كرة القدم)

3. The National Team

French: L’équipe nationale
Spanish: El equipo nacional
Italian: La Nazionale
Portuguese: A seleção nacional
German: Die Nationalmannschaft
Russian: Sbornaya (сборная)
Korean: Gukkadaepyo (국가대표)
Japanese: National chimu (ナショナルチーム)
Arabic: Al-montakhab al-watni (المنتخب الوطني)

4. A Free Kick

French: Un coup franc
Spanish: Un tiro libre
Italian: Un calcio di punizione
Portuguese: Um pontapé livre
German: Ein freistoß
Russian: Shtrafnoy udar (штрафной удар)
Korean: Prickick (프리킥)
Japanese: Free kic (フリーキック)
Arabic: Rokla harra (ركلة حرة)

5. A Penalty Kick

French: Un penalty
Spanish: Un tiro penal
Italian: Un calcio di rigore
Portuguese: Um pontapé de penalidade
German: Einen Elfmeter
Russian: Penal'ti (пенальти)
Korean: Penalticik (페널티킥)
Japanese: Penarti kic (ペナルティキック)
Arabic: Rokla gazaa (ركلة جزاء)

6. A Corner Kick

French: Un coup de pied de coin
Spanish: Un saque de esquina
Italian: Un calcio d'angolo
Portuguese: Um pontapé de canto
German: Ein Eckstoß
Russian: Uglovoy udar (угловой удар)
Korean: Connachic (코너킥)
Japanese: Cornerkick (コーナーキック)
Arabic: Rokla riknia (ركلة ركنية)

7. World Cup

French: La Coupe du Monde
Spanish: La Copa del Mundial
Italian: La Coppa del Mondo
Portuguese: A copa do mundo
German: Die Weltmeisterschaft
Russian: Chempionat mira po futbolu (Чемпионат мира по футболу)
Korean: Waldkop (월드컵)
Japanese: Worldcup (ワールドカップ)
Arabic: Kas alalem (كأس العالم)
8. A Soccer Match
French: Un match de football
Spanish: Un partido de fútbol
Italian: Una partita di calcio
Portuguese: Um jogo de futebol
German: Ein Fußballspiel
Russian: Futbol'nyi match (футбольный матч)
Korean: Cook games (축구 경기)
Japanese: Sacker no shiai (サッカーの試合)
Arabic: Mubaraat kurat alqadam (مباراة كرة القدم)

9. A Yellow Card

French: Un carton jaune
Spanish: Una tarjeta amarilla
Italian: Un cartellino giallo
Portuguese: Um cartão amarelo
German: Eine gelbe Karte
Russian: Zheltaya kartochka (Желтая карточка)
Korean: Yellow kadeu (옐로우 카드)
Japanese: Yellowcard (イエローカード)
Arabic: Bataga safra (بطاقة صفراء)

10. Injury Time

French: Temps de blessure
Spanish: Tiempo de lesión
Italian: Minuti di recupero
Portuguese: Tempo de lesão
German: Nachspielzeit
Russian: Dopolnitel'noe vremya (дополнительное время)
Korean: Busang sigan (부상 시간)
Japanese: Kega jikan (インジュアリータイム)
Arabic: Waqt alisabe (وقت الإصابة)

11. A Hat Trick

French: Un coup de chapeau
Spanish: Un hat trick
Italian: Una tripletta
Portuguese: Um hat-trick
German: Ein Hattrick
Russian: Khet-trick (Хет-трик)
Korean: Hattrick (해트트릭)
Japanese: Hattrick (ハットトリック)
Arabic: Hatrick (هاتريك)

12. The Same Team

French: La même équipe
Spanish: El mismo equipo
Italian: La stessa squadra
Portuguese: A mesma equipa
German: Das gleiche Team
Russian: Odna i ta zhe comanda (одна и та же команда)
Korean: Gateun timm (같은 팀)
Japanese: Onaji chimu (同じチーム)
Arabic: Nafs frik (نفس الفريق)

13. The Opposite Team

French: L’équipe opposée
Spanish: El equipo opuesto
Italian: La squadra avversaria
Portuguese: A equipa oposta
German: Das gegnerische Team
Russian: Protivopolozhnaya comanda (противоположная команда) команда соперников komanda sopernikov
Korean: Bandae timm (반대 팀)
Japanese: Aite chimu (相手チーム)
Arabic: Frik al-maqabel (الفريق المقابل)

14. The Winning Team

French: L’équipe gagnante
Spanish: El equipo ganador
Italian: La squadra vincente
Portuguese: A equipa vencedora
German: Das Gewinnerteam
Russian: Comanda pobeditel' (команда-победитель)
Korean: Useung timm (우승 팀)
Japanese: Yuushou chimu (優勝チーム)
Arabic: Frik al-faez (الفريق الفائز)

15. The Attacking Team

French: L’équipe attaquante
Spanish: El equipo atacante
Italian: La squadra attaccante
Portuguese: A equipa de ataque
German: Die angreifende Mannschaft
Russian: Atakuyushchaya comanda (атакующая команда)
Korean: Konggyeoktim (공격팀)
Japanese: Kougeki chimu (攻撃チーム)
Arabic: Frik al-mohajem (الفريق المهاجم)

16. The Defending Team

French: L’équipe en titre
Spanish: El equipo defensor
Italian: La squadra difensiva
Portuguese: A equipa de defesa
German: Die verteidigende Mannschaft
Russian: Oboronyayushchayasya komanda (обороняющаяся команда)
Korean: Subitim (수비팀)
Japanese: Defending chimu (ディフェンディングチーム)
Arabic: Frik al-madafe (الفريق المدافع)

17. The Other Team

French: L’autre équipe
Spanish: El otro equipo
Italian: L'altra squadra
Portuguese: A outra equipa
German: Das andere Team
Russian: Drugaya comanda (другая команда)
Korean: Dareun timm (다른 팀)
Japanese: Hoka no chimu (他のチーム)
Arabic: Frik alakher (الفريق الآخر)

18. An Offensive Player

French: Un joueur offensif
Spanish: Un jugador ofensivo
Italian: Un giocatore offensivo
Portuguese: Um jogador ofensivo
German: Ein Offensivspieler
Russian: Atakuyushchiy igrok (атакующий игрок)
Korean: Gonggyeokjeogin shenshu (공격적인 선수)
Japanese: kougeki teki nani player (攻撃的なプレーヤー)
Arabic: Laab hujumi (لاعب هجومي)

19. A Defensive Player

French: Un joueur défensif
Spanish: Un jugador defensivo
Italian: Un giocatore difensivo
Portuguese: Um jogador defensivo
German: Ein defensiver Spieler
Russian: Oboronitelny igrok (Оборонительный игрок)
Korean: Subijeogin shenshu (수비적인 선수)
Japanese: Shubi teki nani senshu (守備的な選手)
Arabic: Laab ddevaei (لاعب دفاعي)

20. The Substitute Players

French: Les joueurs remplaçants
Spanish: Los jugadores suplentes
Italian: I giocatori sostitutivi
Portuguese: Os jogadores substitutos
German: Die Ersatzspieler
Russian: Zapasnye igroki (Запасные игроки)
Korean: Gyoche shenshu (교체 선수)
Japanese: Koutai senshu (交代選手)
Arabic: Al-laaboun al-badla (اللاعبون البدلاء)

Cheering and Celebrating

Now, let's look at what different people around the world might say when a player scores for their national team:

French

Voilààà ! means "that's it!" and tire! ... but! means "Shoot!... Goal!". A chant that you will hear constantly while watching the French national team is allez les Bleus, meaning "go the blues".

Spanish

At a Spanish match, you will likely hear fans shout ¡vamos!, meaning "let's go!" or ¡venga!, "come on!" To shout "goal!" it is simply ¡gol!

Italian

Forza Azzurri! is “come on, the blues!”, and Italian fans might also shout complimenti! or bravo! to congratulate their team.

Portuguese

Portuguese fans will shout aí when a player kicks the ball. This just means "there", but it is used to express enthusiasm. Or, you can shout boa, meaning "good" or "nice".

German

If you are cheering Germany on, you can shout los geht’s Deutschland!, "come on Germany!" or noch ein Tor!, "one more goal!"

Russian

Vpered, Rossiya! (Вперёд, Россия! ) means "go Russia!", or you can simply shout Ura! (Ура! ), meaning "hoorah!"

Korean

In Korean, "goal!" is goll! ( 골) and "hoorah!" is manse! (만세). These cheers are simple and easy to learn.

Japanese

Ganbatte (頑張って) is a popular Japanese cheer meaning "keep going". Or, you can learn anata nara dekiru yo ( あなたならできるよ), "you can do it!"

Arabic

Finally, if you want to offer encouragement in Arabic, Hadef! (هدف) means "goal!" and jestmer (يستمر) is "keep going".

10 Useful Phrases for Qatar

Where is the stadium? - Ayn al-melab (أين الملعب)
I am here for the Fifa World Cup - Anna hanna lahdour kas alalem FIFA (أنا هنا لحضور كأس العالم FIFA)
What was the final score? - Ma he natija al-nahaithe (ما هي النتيجة النهائية)
I love to watch professional soccer games - Ahab mashahdeh mbariat kara al-qudam al-ahtarafiyeh (أحب مشاهدة مباريات كرة القدم الاحترافية)
This is my first international match - Huthe he ol mbaraa dulea ley (هذه هي أول مباراة دولية لي)
How long until half-time? - Kam min alwaqt hataa alshawt al'uwwl (كم من الوقت حتى الشوط الأول)
It's a penalty shootout - Inha roclat al-turjih (إنها ركلات الترجيح)
That was a serious foul! - Can delk khatta vadha (كان ذلك خطأ فادحا)
What a dangerous play - Ya laha min laebat khatira (يا لها من لعبة خطيرة)
He scored an own goal! - Sajal hadafan fi marmah (سجل هدفا في مرماه)

So, there we have it. This has been a quick guide to some basic soccer-related vocabulary in 9 languages for the World Cup.

You have learned vocab relating to soccer players, penalty kicks, and the two teams playing.

Moreover, you now know how to celebrate a team's goal in 9 languages! You might hear some of these phrases during the World Cup when different national teams are scoring goals. Now you know how to have basic soccer-related dialogues with locals in Qatar.

For more language learning options and practice in popular languages, why not check out Lingopie? This streaming service offers content hand-picked to improve your language acquisition and listening comprehension by binge-watching and taking vocabulary quizzes.

Have fun watching your national team!