Global View - The World Cup (C0257)

A:  What are you doing?
B:  What am I doing? What am I doing? Don't you know what day it is?
A:  Ummm. no.
B:  It's only the day when the world's biggest sporting event is kicking off.
A:  What?
B:  The World Cup! The first match is today! It's Mexico vs. South Africa! It's going to be a really good match! Both teams have a very strong offense and have skilled players. I think that South Africa will probably dominate the first half since they are the host country, and all.
A:  I have no idea what you're talking about. The only sporting event we watch at home is the Super Bowl.
B:  This is bigger than the Super Bowl, man! Teams from 32 countries compete against each other every four years and fight to win that trophy. They first start in a group stage with bigger groups, each group having 4 teams. The top 2 teams pass on to an elimination stage before going on to the quarterfinalsand semifinals.
A:  Sounds interesting, but soccer doesn't really appeal to me.
B:  Are you kidding? Over seven hundred million people watched the final match of the World Cup! It's a very exciting and nerve wracking sport! Each nation is cheering on their team, hoping they will become the next champion. So far Brazil is the team with the most titles under their belt; they're really good!
A:  All I know about soccer is that you can't use your hands and that players are always falling down, trying to get a free kick or penalty kick. It seems like a sissy sport to me!
B:  Whatever dude, I'm going to go watch the opening match.

Key Vocabulary

to kick offto officially begin something
stagea step in a process
sissysomething only appropriate for girls or women
matchgame
hostone who provides services, etc as for a convention

Supplementary Vocabulary

rivala person or team who above everyone else attempts to win against you
disinterestto not have interest in something
competitiona match between two teams or persons
obliviousto be unaware
qualifyto show an ability to progress in a competition

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