This week’s weekly football post explains the verb phrase to kill the ball.

* Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below.

* You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.

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(to) Kill the Ball

This week’s English for football phrase uses the verb ‘to kill‘. usually this means to murder, to take someone’s life, but in football it is used to describe the action of controlling the ball. If a player receives the ball and kills the ball, it means that the ball stops moving, the ball is perfectly under control near the player’s feet. Often this verb phrase is used when there is a cross that is in the air and a player takes the ball down to the ground with perfect control, the player kills the ball.

* Example: The ball dropped from high, inside the centre circle where Saúl, standing alone, brought it down coolly, killing it first and breathing life into it next.. (guardian.co.uk)

* Example: De Jong’s rugged, over-the-top challenge left Nagbe writhing in agony and triggered a prolonged melee between players from both sides. De Jong escaped with a caution. (abc.net.au)

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