This podcast is for those who love football and also want to improve their English. This week, we look at various ways to say score with the noun 'home': eg. bundle home. You can read the transcript of the show below. It is a great way for learners of English to practice. You can also check out our massive glossary of footballing phrases here. We have hundreds of previous posts and podcasts too on our website. If you are a teacher of English, why don't you use the audio and transcript to provide practice for their students: Try some true/false questions, pick out some key vocabulary before playing the podcast as an audio quiz, etc. And learners of English can access all resources for free. A Let us know if you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.













Learn English Through Football
DB: Hello there everyone. Welcome to the podcast for all those who love the beautiful game of football and also want to improve their English. My name's Damon, and I'm based in Tokyo. It's a beautiful weekend here in Japan. I wonder what it is like over in London, where Damian, the other half of the team lives. Nice I hope. Damian has recently posted on the website and looked at the word 'challenge'. Check it out if you want to know more about this phrase used to talk about tackling.

In this podcast, we're not talking about tackling, but instead we will focus on scoring from close range, and how to describe goals using the noun 'home'.

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

DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster and that message was in Danish.
Bundle Home
DB: OK, let's kick off with today's football language, using a verb plus 'home' to describe a goal. I'm going to focus on goals scored close to the goal line, say around the six-yard area, and see how we can describe goals in this way.

The first one is bundle home. If a player bundles the ball home, it isn't a clean strike or hit. Maybe the ball comes off the player's shin or thigh, it is almost pushed in. It is a bit chaotic and several players may be trying to either shoot or clear the ball.

Here's an example from the BBC: "Sharp, who had only been on the pitch for six minutes, bundled the ball home from close range after Oliver McBurnie's mishit shot bounced off Nathan Ake and into the striker's path."
Stab Home
DB: Next, stab home. This is also a shot close to the goal line, but instead of being a bit lucky, to stab home describes a quick shot; the player has quick reactions and connects with the ball, often with the front of the boot, and stabs the ball home.

Here's an example from Eurosport.com: "Juve looked set to drop two valuable points until Cambiaso stabbed home from close range in the dying minutes of stoppage time."

Notice again we have the phrase 'from close range' as well, just like in our example of bundled home.

Very similar to stab home, is poke home.
Tuck Home
DB: Next is to tuck home. This describes a shot anywhere from perhaps the penalty spot to the six-yard area, so still close to the goal.

To tuck away means to put something safely away. For example, someone might tuck some money away to save it and keep it safe. In the passive construction, be tucked away, this is often used to describe a building in a quiet street a€“ her house was tucked away in the corner of the park. The house is difficult to find but safe and cosy.

In football, if a player tucks the ball home, he or she guides the ball past the goalkeeper safely into the net.

Here is our third example again from the BBC: "His hard work for Youri Tielemans' goal for 2-1 epitomised his display, rolling the ball across the six-yard box for the Belgium international to tuck home from a yard out."

You may also hear tuck away instead of tuck home.

Stinger: Your are listening to languagecaster.