In this football language post we look at some of the words and phrases to describe the 2022 World Cup qualification process by looking at how teams from each region will qualify for the finals in Qatar. There is a free transcript with this listening activity along with some vocabulary practice and you can also check out our football glossary and football cliches pages for hundreds more explanations of the language of soccer. If you have questions or comments about this or any other phrase then email us at: [email protected].

Football Language Podcast: 2022 World Cup Qualification Process

DF: Hello everyone, this is Damian from the Learning English Through Football team. I hope we are all doing well and staying safe wherever we are around the world. Now, today’s football language podcast will look at some of the words and phrases that you might hear when talking about the qualification process for the 2022 World Cup. There is of course a transcript to go with this podcast – great for teaching and learning English – and if you have any questions or comments about any of the football language in this report then you can contact us here at: [email protected].

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

Introduction

DF: The Qatar World Cup is due to take place in December 2022 with a total of 209 teams entering the competition although remarkably 28 teams have already been eliminated from the competition – 12 from Asia, 2 from the CONCACAF region and 14 from Africa. As the European qualifiers begin this week with their first set of three fixtures we thought we’d take a look at the qualification process across the six different confederations and to see which teams will be hoping to join Qatar in the finals.

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

Europe (UEFA) [13 places]

DF: Right, let’s start with the European section where a record 55 nations will be trying to make it to Qatar in 2022. They have been split into ten groups of either five or six teams which means a team will play either eight or ten qualifiers (playing home and away). All the group winners qualify directly while the best ten runners-up, along with two other teams with the best Nations League record will be divided into three sections of four teams where they will play a semi-final and final to produce the final three places.

Currently there have only been two or three games played but already there have been some surprises. 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia were beaten 1-0 by Slovenia in their opening game, Turkey beat the Netherlands 4-2 and then went on to defeat Norway 3-0 to top Group G, while the holders France were held to a 1-1 draw