Soccer in French: Let’s talk World Cup 2022!

Celine Segueg

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.

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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 !

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