Euro 2020 — or is it Euro 2021? — finally kicks off next weekend, and it’s set to be a cracker. 24 countries, playing across 11 host cities in 51 matches, will compete for the ultimate prize - to be the champions of Europe.

This year’s tournament is one of the more complicated. The first to be played across the whole continent, with reduced crowds and extended squads, plus other changes to account for COVID 19. Combine that with the kick off times, with many matches happening overnight for those of us in Japan and Australia, it’s a tough tournament to keep up with.

But don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Starting today, with our Euro 2020 preview, we’ll be releasing a couple of episodes a week, covering all the talking points to make sure you are informed. You might even pick up some new English too.

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Euro 2020、もしくはEuro 2021と呼べるのでしょうか？- サッカー欧州選手権は来週末6月12日日本時間の土曜の朝4時に開幕します。今回は24カ国が11の開催地で51試合を行いますが、大会運営は例年に比べて非常に複雑なものとなっています。ヨーロッパ大陸全体で行われる初めての大会、観客数の制限、選手登録人数の拡大、コロナの影響を考慮した開催地の変更などが行われています。キックオフの時間については、日本やオーストラリアでは多くの試合が深夜に行われるため、寝不足が続く一ヶ月となるでしょう。

そんなヨーロッパサッカーファンの方々へのささやかな朗報かもしれません。本ポッドキャスト番組「サッカーと英語」は、本日のEuro 2020プレビューを皮切りに、週に2、3回のペースでエピソードを公開し、注目ゲームや現地メディア情報などを取り上げてお伝えします。サッカーを通じた新しい英語を学べるチャンスとなるでしょう。

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VOCABULARY
Group of Death

A group made up of the best teams.

Underdog 

A competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest.
"Japan are big underdogs at the next World Cup"

Choke

to fail when you are expected to succeed
"England were expected to beat Iceland, but they choked."

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THE GROUPS:

• Group A: Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Wales
• Group B: Belgium, Russia, Denmark, Finland
• Group C: Ukraine, Netherlands, Austria, North Macedonia
• Group D: England, Croatia, Czech Republic, Scotland
• Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia
• Group F: Germany, France, Portugal, Hungary

TOURNAMENT PREDICTOR:
https://gaming.uefa.com/en/uefaeuro2020tournamentpredictor/main