Learn English Through Football Podcast: On the Plane
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Learn English Through Football Podcast: On the Plane
In this week’s football-language podcast we look at some phrases connected with choosing squads for the World Cup, including ‘to be on the plane’. We will also look at some predictions from this weekend’s big games, including Tottenham versus Everton and West Ham taking on Leeds. You can read the transcript for this podcast below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions about the phrase or our podcast then you can contact us here.
Hello
DF: You’re listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.
DF: Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well. My name is Damian, and I am one half of the Learn English through Football Podcast team and I am based in a very hot London on the final weekend of the 2025-26 season here in England. Now, I wonder how Damon, the other member of the Learn English through Football team is doing in Tokyo, Japan?
DB: Hi there Damian. Well, it is certainly not summer weather here. This week saw the temperature drop from around 25 degrees to 12, and today is a chilly, grey day. You must be looking forward to enjoying the warm weather this weekend, but are you looking forward to the last matches in the Premier League this Sunday? Your team Tottenham are one of only a few teams with something to play for, aren’t they?
DF: It is a horrible feeling – I would much prefer to be playing for nothing than being involved in the relegation battle from the Premier League. My team Tottenham are one place above the relegation zone with a two-point advantage over London rivals West Ham. If we win or draw in our final game against Everton then we will stay up and not be relegated – we won’t go down. So, it is very much in our own hands but I have been so nervous all week that I just don’t know what is going to happen.
Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.com (an Arsenal fan)
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Yes, you are listening to Languagecaster which was what we used to be known as, now of course we are the Learn English through Football team and that was from an Arsenal fan. Congratulations to the Gunners on winning their first Premier League title in 22 years. And well done to Celtic in Scotland and Bayern Munich in Germany who both won their domestic cups at the weekend to complete a domestic double. And this was a phrase we looked at last week. And of course congratulations to Barcelona who won the Women’s Champions League yesterday after thrashing Lyon 4-0 in the final. Also, well done to Hull City who are back in the Premier League after the play-off final yesterday. It’s been a busy weekend of football – the business end of the season as more and more titles are being decided.
Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.com (in Sakuma from Tanzania)
DB: Thank you for that message, which was in Sakuma, a language spoken in Tanzania. We’ll have several more messages in different languages coming up on the show. Try and identify as many as you can. We’ll have the answers at the end of the show. And talking about the show, Damian, what do we have on this week’s podcast?
Today’s Show
DF: Well Damon we’re going to focus on some language around the upcoming 2026 World Cup and in particular language to describe players being called up (or chosen) for their national team’s squad. After that, we have a couple of predictions including two matches from the Premier League which are both linked to that relegation battle we talked about.
Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.com (in French Canadian)
Contact
DB: Now, if you want to get in contact with us with a football-language question or you have a comment on our show, you can do this by coming along to our forum or by writing to us at: contact@learnenglishthroughfootball.com. While you are visiting our site, you can check out our glossary of football terms, expressions, phrases and clichés about the beautiful game of football.
DB: Next up it’s Damian and a focus on the language of selecting teams for tournaments.
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DF: There are only three weeks to go until the start of the 2026 World Cup and in the past week many countries have named the players who will represent or play for them in the tournament and we are going to look at some of the language connected to this.
Squad
Let’s start with the word, ‘squad‘. This is the group of players who are chosen to play for a team or a country. So, we can say that Tottenham’s squad has suffered a lot of injuries this season or we can say that the Portuguese squad for the upcoming World Cup looks really strong. The squad, then, is the list of players who are available to play for a team. And in the World Cup there are 26 players allowed in each squad and this has increased since I was young when there were only 22 players in a World Cup squad.
On the Plane/Get the Nod
There are lots of cliches connected to the naming of squads and one of these is ‘on the plane‘. This is used to describe a player being chosen for a squad – the idea is that the player will travel with the squad to the tournament by plane. So, if a player is on the plane, they have made it into the squad. For England, Ivan Toney and Djed Spence are both on the plane, while Harry Maguire is not on the plane to the World Cup.
Another phrase that is used in football is ‘to get the nod over‘. Now a nod is when you move your head up and down which suggests agreement or saying ‘yes’. But in this sense the phrase to get the nod over basically means that the player has been chosen for the squad. If we say that a player has got the nod over someone else it means that they have been chosen ahead of that other player; they were picked and the other player wasn’t. So, for example, Jordan Henderson got the nod over Adam Wharton probably due to having more tournament experience.
Miss out on/Be Overlooked
What about players don’t get on the plane? Here’s a couple of phrases: to miss out on and to be overlooked. So, for players who are not on the plane we can say that they have missed out; they have missed out on selection which means they have not been chosen to go to the World Cup. To miss out out on something means that something is not going to happen for you. In football we can say that a team has missed out on promotion which would mean they are not getting promoted but that they were very close. So, for example, Middlesbrough missed out on promotion to the Premier League when Hull City scored a late winner at Wembley yesterday in the promotion play-off final.
A player can miss out on being selected for a team or squad because of injury or because they are not as good as others in the squad or simply that the manager prefers one player over another one. So, we can say that Trent Alexander Arnold and Phil Foden both missed out on making the England squad – they were close to making it and many people felt that they should (or could) be in it but in the end they didn’t; they weren’t selected for the squad; they missed out on the squad; they will not be on the plane for the 2026 World Cup. Another phrase that we can sometimes hear is ‘to be overlooked‘ which means that a player has not been chosen or maybe not even considered for the squad. So, Phil Foden has been overlooked for the England World Cup squad, for example.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Irish)
Selection Dilemma/Selection Headache
Of course, everyone has their own opinion about which players should be selected and which ones should not be on the plane. Sometimes it is quite difficult to decide which players should stay and which ones should go and so we might hear the word ‘dilemma‘ to describe this. A dilemma means that there are two or more choices to be made and you know that whichever one you choose someone will not agree with you. So, there were some selection dilemmas for the England manager Thomas Tuchel when naming his World Cup squad. Should he choose Cole Palmer or Morgan Gibbs-White or maybe pick Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham instead? This was a difficult decision which means it is a selection dilemma or maybe a selection headache. A selection dilemma suggests that there are just too many options for the manager making it really difficult to choose the players for the squad.
Surprise inclusion
Now, sometimes the manager makes a decision that no one has really predicted and we can call this a surprise selection or a surprise inclusion. I think Ivan Toney is a surprise inclusion in the England squad as he currently plays in Saudi Arabia – well away from the English media.
Recall
Let’s have another look at another phrase around this topic of choosing players for the squad. To recall a player. And means to choose a player that was not in recent squads but now the manager wants to bring them back into the squad. For example, a player was dropped or injured and did not feature in previous squads but then the manager asks them to come back – they have been recalled to the squad. In Brazil, Neymar Jr has been recalled to the Brazilian squad – for some it was a surprise inclusion, while for others his recall is a good thing. Neymar got the nod and will be on the plane to the World Cup with Brazil. I wonder will his coach Ancelotti pick him for the starting XI? Another selection headache that managers have to deal with!
Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.com (in Portuguese from Brazil)
DF: OK, what language do you think that was? It would be great if you could send us a message like that saying, ‘You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast‘ in your language, or maybe you could add your name and which team you support as well – it’s up to you. But we’d be really happy to hear from you. Just send it on to: contact@learnenglishthroughfootball.com.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Catalan)
Predictions
DB: OK, it’s time for our predictions, and we have three matches, two from the Premier League and one, well two actually, from Ligue 1. Let’s start with the match in France. This is the relegation final between Nice and St. Etienne, which is played over two legs, home and away. The first match is at St. Etienne on the 25th and the second leg is two days later in Nice. So, these two matches will decide which team is relegated, drops down, to Ligue 2.
Ligue 1 Play-off: St Etienne v Nice
DB: Now I think this will be a draw at St Etienne – maybe 1-1. But Nice will win the return leg comfortably 2-0 to avoid the drop. Damian?
DF: I have always had a soft spot for Saint Etienne so I am going for them to beat Nice over the two legs: 3-2 on aggregate.
Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur v Everton
DB: OK, next is a big big game for Tottenham who are two points above the relegation zone. A draw against Everton in this tie should be enough for the north-London side to keep their place in the Premier League, but a loss will leave them hoping West Ham don’t win and leapfrog them into safety.
I think this is going to be incredibly nervy and Everton are going to be awkward opponents. If Tottenham play for the win, I think they’ll get it with a score of 2-0, but if they set up for a draw they could be in danger. This is a massive game for you Damian, as a Spurs fan, are you confident?
DF: Not confident at all but I think we should just about do it. I’m going for a 2-1 win despite the fact that we have not won at home this year! What about the last fixture Damon – West Ham v Leeds.
Premier League: West Ham v Leeds United
DB: I think this is going to be another nervy game for the home side, this time West Ham. Leeds have nothing to play for but that just might mean they relax and enjoy their football. I think this will be a 2-2 draw and that will mean you don’t have to worry about the Spurs v Everton game Damian! What do you think?
DF: I disagree. I think West Ham will win this and win it easily. Maybe 2-0 and if they score early then there will be some nerves at Tottenham.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Dutch)
DB: What did you think of those predictions? Will Tottenham avoid the drop? Will Nice stay up in Ligue 1?
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Persian)
DB: Thank you for that final message, which was in Persian. We started the show with Sakuma, followed by French Canadian, Brazilian (Portuguese), Irish, Catalan, and Dutch. Well done if you recognised any of those languages and, as we said, we’d love to hear from you if you’d like to record one in any language that you know.
Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.
Goodbye
DF: Thank you everyone again for listening. This week we have looked at lots of language connected to squad selections and announcements. We heard about, ‘get the nod over‘ when one player is chosen ahead of another. We talked about squad selection and selection headaches or selection dilemmas when there is a choice of two or more players for the squad. We also looked at recall a player which means they have returned to the squad and of course the phrase, ‘to be on the plane‘ to describe the selection of a player for the World Cup squad. Let us know if you hear these or any other similar phrases in English or in any other language. Drop us a line here at Learn English Through Football.
And also, make sure that you give us a like on your favourite podcast or social media platform – tell your friends about us. We’d love it! Enjoy all the football this week – the Europa Conference League final is on Wednesday and of course next Saturday is the Champions League final.
See you early next week when we will have another football expression. Fingers crossed for Tottenham. Until then, bye bye.
DB: Ta-ra
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