Here in France, we are extremely excited about the upcoming World Cup in November. There is no sport as popular as soccer in France, the sport known here as le foot. And every four years, World Cup fever grips our country as it does most of the world.
Les Bleus, the French National Team, won the last Coupe du Monde, led by young players such as Kylian Mbappé. With the men’s World Cup taking place this year and the women’s World Cup competition coming in 2023, now is a great time to learn essential phrases and vocabulary for talking about soccer in French.
In this post you will find a ton of useful French vocabulary that you need in order to talk about the biggest sporting event of the year, and about soccer in general. You’ll learn terms for discussing the field, the rules, the team, the players and positions, the uniforms, and who’s winning and losing.
This article is brought to you by LingoCulture, Where you can get unlimited private French classes via Zoom with native teachers for a flat monthly rate. It’s the closest thing to immersion you can get without living in a French-speaking country. Click here to learn more.
Get primed to speak about soccer in French with French nationals and with fans of other francophone nations who have qualified to compete in the tournament, including Senegal and Cameroon! Check the FIFA 2022 World Cup webpage to see all the countries which have qualified, and the schedules for the group stage matches.
Basic Soccer Vocabulary in French
| English | French |
| soccer | le football, le foot |
| the team | l’équipe |
| the fans | les fanatiques |
| the field | le terrain |
| the stadium | le stade |
| the ball | le ballon |
| the game | le match |
| the players | les joueurs |
| the World Cup | la Coupe du Monde |
The field or the pitch
| English | French |
| the goal | le but |
| the sideline | la ligne de touche |
| the net | le filet |
| the corner flag | le drapeau de coin |
| the grass | la pelouse |
| the goal line | la ligne de but |
| the penalty box | la surface de réparation |
| the goalie box | la surface de but |
| centerfield | le rond central |
| locker rooms | les vestiaires |
| the stands | les gradins |
| the sideline bench | le banc de touche |
| the goalpost | le poteau |
| the crossbar | la transversale |
People, Positions, and Players
| English | French |
| the goalie | le gardien |
| the defender | le défenseur |
| a stopper or sweeper | un libero |
| a mid-fielder | un milieu |
| a forward | un avant |
| a wing | un ailier |
| the striker | un buteur |
| the coach | l’entraîneur, l’entraîneuse |
| the referee | l’arbitre |
| the line judge | le juge |
| the captain | le capitaine |
| a substitute | un remplaçant |
| spectators | les spectateurs |
| sports commentator | le commentateur sportif |
Plays and Penalties
| English | French |
| a goal | un but |
| a yellow card | un carton jaune |
| a red card | un carton rouge |
| a corner kick | un corner |
| a free kick | un coup franc |
| a foul | une faute |
| a handball | une faute de main |
| offsides | hors-jeu |
| a tie game | un match nul |
| a throw in | une touche, une remise en jeu |
| a tackle | un tacle |
| a goal kick | un six mètres |
| make a header, headball | faire une tête |
| shots on goal | tirs au but |
| a fake | une feinte |
| a nutmeg pass (through an opponent’s legs) | un petit pont |
| a warning | un avertissement |
| a penalty | un pénalty |
| a give and go pass | une-deux |
| the kick-off | le coup d’envoi |
Talking about the game and time
| English | French |
| the half | la période |
| the second half | la deuxième période |
| halftime | la mi-temps |
| regulation time | le temps réglementaire |
| overtime | la prolongation |
| stoppage time | arrêts de jeu |
| additional time | le temps additionnel |
| the end of the game | le fin du match |
Equipment and Uniforms
| English | French |
| cleats | les crampons |
| the uniform | le maillot |
| a jersey | un maillot |
| shin guard | le protège-tibia |
| socks | les bas |
| shorts | un short |
| the whistle | le sifflet |
World Cup Vocabulary
| English | French |
| the tournament | le tournoi |
| the champion | le champion, la championne |
| the championship | le championnat |
| a friendly game | un match amical |
| the group stage | la phase de groupes |
| quarterfinals | quarts de finale |
| semifinals | demi-finales |
| the final | la finale |
| the results | les resultats |
| the golden ball award | le ballon d’or |
| the trophy | le trophée |
| the tickets | les billets |
Useful Verbs for Talking about Soccer in French
Now that you have learned the vocabulary for talking about the players, field, game, uniforms, as well as some tournament specific vocabulary, we are going to provide you with a list of the most useful verbs to talk about soccer in French.
| English | French | Example |
| to stop | arrêter | La défense sénégalaise doit arrêter l’attaque tunisienne. – The Senegalese defence must stop the Tunisian attack. |
| to attend | assister à | Nous assistons à tous les matchs à Paris. – We attend all games in Paris. |
| to beat | battre | Les français battent les anglais en demi-finale. – The French beat the English in the semifinal. |
| to break | se casser | Il s’est cassé la jambe pendant le tacle. – He broke his leg during the tackle. |
| to control | contrôler | L’Italie a contrôlé le ballon pour la majorité du match. – Italy controlled the ball for most of the match. |
| to get by | déborder | L’attaquant a débordé trois joueurs avant de tirer. – The attacker got by three players before shooting. |
| to defend | défendre | Il n’est pas facile à défendre contre Ronaldo. – It is not easy to defend against Ronaldo. |
| to argue | disputer | L’entraîneur dispute fortement avec l’arbitre. – The coach argues strongly with the referee. |
| to dribble | dribbler | Le joueur a dribblé entre les deux défenseurs. – The player dribbled between the two defenders. |
| to eliminate | éliminer | L’Allemagne est éliminée en quarts de finale. – Germany is eliminated in the quarterfinals. |
| to equalize, to tie up | égaliser | Dans la deuxième période, les Belges ont égalisé. – In the second half, the Belgians tied the game. |
| to expel | expulser | Après un carton rouge, l’arbitre expulse le joueur du match. – After a red card, the referee expels the player from the game. |
| to head | faire une tête | Pendant le corner, Pulisic a fait une tête et a marqué un but. – During the corner kick, Pulisic headed the ball and scored a goal. |
| to lose | perdre | Les États-Unis perdent contre l’Espagne. – The United States are losing to Spain. |
| to lead | mener | A la mi-temps, la France mène 2 à 1. – At halftime, France leads 2 to 1. |
| to qualify | qualifier | Les États-Unis n’ont pas qualifié en 2018. – The United States didn’t qualify in 2018. |
| to pass | passer | Passe le ballon à Ronaldo ! – Pass the ball to Ronaldo! |
| to play | jouer | Quand est-ce que le Brésil joue contre l’Argentine ? – When does Brazil play against Argentina? |
| to run | courir | Tous les joueurs de l’équipe courent vite. – All the players of the team run fast. |
| to save | sauver | Le gardien a sauvé le but au dernier moment. – The goalie saved the goal at the last moment. |
| to score | marquer | Lionel Messi marque un but en prolongation! – Lionel Messi scores a goal in overtime! |
| to shoot | tirer | Tire le ballon ! – Shoot the ball! |
| to support | soutenir | Je soutiens le Mexique. – I support Mexico. |
| to train | s’entraîner | Les nouveaux joueurs n’ont pas beaucoup de temps pour s’entraîner avant le tournoi. – The new players don’t have much time to train before the tournament. |
| to watch | regarder | Voulez-vous regarder le match chez moi ? – Do you want to watch the match at my place? |
| to win | gagner | Qui va gagner le match ? – Who is going to win the match? |
Expressions for watching the game
- À quelle heure est le match ? – What time is the game?
- Combien de billets as-tu ? – How many tickets do you have?
- Contre qui est-ce qu’ils jouent ? – Who are they playing against?
- Qui est ton joueur préféré? – Who is your favorite player ?
- Sur quelle chaîne est le match ? – What channel is the match on?
- Comment va le match ? – How is the game going?
- Je parie que la France va en demi-finale. – I bet that France goes to the semifinals.
- J’ai acheté les billets. – I bought the tickets.
- Veux-tu assister au match demain ? – Do you want to attend the game tomorrow?
- Regardons le match ! – Let’s watch the game!
Go-To French Phrases for Talking Soccer
Here are some phrases that you will likely hear from French speakers as they root for their team during the World Cup.
- Allez les bleus ! – Go Blues!
The French National Team is often just referred to as Les Bleus, or The Blues, named after the color of their uniforms.
- Qui ne saute pas n’est pas français ! – Whoever isn’t jumping isn’t French!
- Tous les supporters se lèvent pour l’ola. – All the fans get up for the wave.
- On est en finale! – We’re in the final!
- L’arbitre est aveugle! – The referee is blind!
- Donnez un coup de sifflet final! – Blow the final whistle!
- La Coupe du Monde 1998 – The World Cup in 1998. (This is the first time France won the World Cup led by French soccer icon, Zinedine Zedane.)
Conclusion
As la Coupe du Monde gets started in November, you now have the vocabulary and some expressions to impress your French-speaking friends. Your effort will go a long way towards ingratiating yourself with any French-speaking football fans around the world.
Don’t forget, the tournament kicks off November 20th, 2022. For practice, you can even follow the event on the website of the FIFA World Cup in French!
Allez Les Bleus !