The draw was made in Germany on Friday evening for football’s World Cup Finals. The pundits will now be working overtime in deciding who will beat whom and where the potential upsets might be. After weeks of the 32 participant nations wondering which teams they will be pitted against and analysts and armchair fans going through countless permutations, the stage is now set for the greatest show on Earth. Reigning champions Brazil are the out and out favorites to retain their crown after having won on a record five previous occasions. They will be given a good run for their money by the likes of the multi-talented Argentina, England, who have high expectations of their precocious striker Wayne Rooney, and the perennial underachievers Spain. Non-partisan fans will be rooting for underdogs Trinidad and Tobago, Togo and Angola.

The glitz and glamour in Leipzig was added to by soccer legends from yesteryear, including Pele, the greatest player to grace a football pitch. There were also appearances from supermodels and the inevitable cuddly mascots. The biggest oohs and aaghs of the evening came from the matching of Argentina with Holland, which promises a delectable feast of football skill and artistry. The game is a repeat of the 1978 Final, which Argentina won. The trickiest game might be for France, who take on minnows and rank outsiders Togo, whose players are very familiar with French football. Angola, in their first Finals, take on former colonial rulers Portugal. The tournament officially kicks off on June 9, when hosts Germany will face the highly fancied Costa Rica. Until then, be prepared for football fever to grip the world.

WARM-UPS

1. THE IMPORTANCE: In pairs / groups, talk about how important football (American, Aussie and rugby varieties included) is in your country. Talk about your domestic and national teams. How important is football to you? A legendary manager (coach) once said: “Football isn’t a matter of life and death, it’s more important.” What do you think?

2. THE DRAW: With your partner(s), look at the draw for the 2006 World Cup Finals (on page 12). Quickly decide who will be first and runner up of each group. Decide which of the teams will eventually win. Walk around the classroom and tell each other about the predictions you just made.

3. WORLD CUP SEARCH: Talk to as many other students as you can to find out what they know about the World Cup Finals. After you have talked to lots of students, sit down with your partner(s) and share your information. Tell each other what you thought was interesting or surprising. Would you like to go and see the Finals?

4. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

World Cup / overtime / upsets / armchair fans / Brazil / underdogs / yesteryear / Pele / supermodels / mascots / oohs and aaghs / Angola / football fever

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

5. 2-MINUTE SOCCER DEBATES: Have the following (for-fun) 2-minute debates. Students A take the first argument, students B the second. Change partners often.

1. Football should be called “football”. vs. “Soccer” is the best name.
2. Football is an art. vs. Football is just a simple game.
3. Football is by far the greatest game in the world. vs. No it isn’t.
4. David Beckham is the world’s most handsome footballer. vs. Who cares?
5. European football is the best in the world. vs. South America is best.
6. The USA will be world champions one day. vs. Never. But China will.
7. Football stars are overpaid. vs. They earn every penny.
8. Real football (soccer) is better than American football. vs. Totally disagree.
9. The world would be a sadder place without football. vs. There’s always tennis.

6. FOOTBALL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “football”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Germany failed to make the draw for the 2006 World Cup Finals.	T / F
b.	Many football fans take their armchairs to soccer games.	T / F
c.	Brazil is hoping to win back the title it lost in the last tournament.	T / F
d.	Spain are the World Cup’s perennial underachievers.	T / F
e.	Pele is the greatest player ever to have graced a football pitch.	T / F
f.	There were lots of oohs and aaghs over the Argentina-Holland match.	T / F
g.	Fishing for minnows is more popular than football in Togo.	T / F
h.	Soccer stress will cause fevers and rashes in soccer fans worldwide.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	pundits	the past
b.	permutations	favored
c.	out and out	appetizing
d.	perennial	experts
e.	rooting	noises
f.	yesteryear	clear
g.	oohs and aaghs	absolute
h.	delectable	constant
i.	rank	possibilities
j.	fancied	cheering

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	working overtime in deciding who	for their money
b.	Brazil are the out and	fever to grip the world
c.	They will be given a good run	for underdogs Trinidad and Tobago
d.	high expectations of their	a football pitch
e.	Non-partisan fans will be rooting	of football skill and artistry
f.	the greatest player to grace	will beat whom
g.	The biggest oohs	precocious striker Wayne Rooney
h.	promises a delectable feast	outsiders Togo
i.	minnows and rank	out favorites to retain their crown
j.	be prepared for football	and aaghs of the evening

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the gaps in the text.

Draw made for 2006 World Cup Finals

The draw was made in Germany on Friday evening for football’s World Cup Finals. The ________ will now be working overtime in deciding who will beat whom and where the potential ________ might be. After weeks of the 32 participant nations wondering which teams they will be ________ against and analysts and ________ fans going through countless permutations, the stage is now set for the greatest show on Earth. Reigning champions Brazil are the out and out favorites to retain their crown after having won on a record five previous occasions. They will be given a good ________ for their money by the likes of the multi-talented Argentina, England, who have high expectations of their ________ striker Wayne Rooney, and the ________ underachievers Spain. Non-partisan fans will be rooting for ________ Trinidad and Tobago, Togo and Angola.		perennial pitted pundits underdogs run upsets precocious armchair
The ________ and glamour in Leipzig was added to by soccer legends from ________, including Pele, the greatest player to grace a football pitch. There were also appearances from supermodels and the inevitable cuddly ________. The biggest oohs and ________ of the evening came from the matching of Argentina with Holland, which promises a delectable feast of football skill and artistry. The game is a repeat of the 1978 Final, which Argentina won. The ________ game might be for France, who take on ________ and rank outsiders Togo, whose players are very familiar with French football. Angola, in their first Finals, take on former colonial rulers Portugal. The tournament officially ________ off on June 9, when hosts Germany will face the highly fancied Costa Rica. Until then, be prepared for football ________ to grip the world.		trickiest kicks aaghs yesteryear fever glitz minnows mascots

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Draw made for 2006 World Cup Finals

The draw was made in Germany on Friday evening for football’s World Cup Finals. The ________ will now be working overtime in deciding who will beat whom and where the potential ________ might be. After weeks of the 32 participant nations wondering which teams they will be ________ against and analysts and ________ fans going through countless permutations, the stage is now set for the greatest show on Earth. Reigning champions Brazil are the ____ ____ ____ favorites to retain their crown after having won on a record five previous occasions. They will be given a good run for their money by the likes of the multi-talented Argentina, England, who have high expectations of their ___________ striker Wayne Rooney, and the perennial underachievers Spain. Non-partisan fans will be ___________ for underdogs Trinidad and Tobago, Togo and Angola.

The ______ and glamour in Leipzig was added to by soccer legends from yesteryear, including Pele, the greatest player to ________ a football pitch. There were also appearances from supermodels and the inevitable ________ mascots. The biggest ______ and ______ of the evening came from the matching of Argentina with Holland, which promises a delectable _________ of football skill and artistry. The game is a repeat of the 1978 Final, which Argentina won. The trickiest game might be for France, who take on _________ and rank outsiders Togo, whose players are very familiar with French football. Angola, in their first Finals, take on former _________ rulers Portugal. The tournament officially kicks off on June 9, when hosts Germany will face the highly _________ Costa Rica. Until then, be prepared for football fever to grip the world.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘foot’ and ‘ball’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “WORLD CUP” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about football (soccer) and the 2006 World Cup Finals.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

pundits armchair out and out run precocious rooting

glitz inevitable oohs minnows Angola grip

WORLD CUP DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
2. What do you think of the draw for the 2006 World Cup Finals?
3. Why do you think the event is called the World Cup Finals (with an “s”) and not the World Cup Final?
4. Soccer’s World Cup is the most watched event in the world. Do you think it is the most important sporting event in the world?
5. Would you like the event to be staged more frequently than every four years?
6. Do you prefer the word “football” or “soccer” when talking about the world game of football?
7. What do you think the World Cup gives to the world?
8. Will your lifestyle change a little during the 2006 World Cup Finals?
9. Why do you think football (soccer) is the most popular sport in the world?
10. What are your best memories of previous World Cup Finals?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. Who do you think will win the 2006 World Cup?
4. Do you think the USA will ever win the World Cup?
5. Are you pleased with the performance of your nation’s team in this or previous World Cups?
6. What’s the greatest thing about the World Cup?
7. An Emirates Airline ad states: “We all speak one language – Football.” What do you think of this?
8. Football (soccer) is often called “the beautiful game” and “the world’s game”. What do you think of these titles?
9. How do you think the World Cup compares with the Olympics?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
2. Was there a question you didn’t like?
3. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
4. What did you like talking about?
5. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

FOOTBALL RULES: In pairs / groups, talk about the basic rules of football (soccer) so you can explain them to someone who has never seen the game before. Use the areas in the left hand column.

AREAS	EXPLANATION OF RULES
1. Objective
2. Teams
3. Goals
4. Free kicks and penalties
5. Offside
6. Corners and goal kicks
7. Time
8. Yellow and red cards
9. Other

• Change partners and share and compare the rules you were able to think of. Fill in any missing gaps from your partners. Make sure any disagreements are resolved.
• Return to your original partner(s) and talk about the new rules you just found out.
• Look again carefully at rules 2 – 8. Decide on one amendment for each of them that will make the game more exciting.
• Change partners and tell each other your proposed amendments. Discuss whether they would make football more interesting to watch.
• Give a presentation of your proposed rule changes. Vote on the best proposals.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on the 2006 World Cup Finals. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

3. FOOTBALL (SOCCER): Make a poster comparing football (soccer) with another sport you like. Explain the good and bad points of both sports. Include a section that explains why one sport is better than the other. Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Does everyone agree with your conclusion?

4. FINALS FORECAST: Write a newspaper article based on the draw for the 2006 World Cup Finals. Make your predictions on who will win the group stages and eventually the final itself. Discuss the exciting match-ups. Will there be any games that will see lots of goals? Will it be an exciting event? Show what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. How different were your forecasts?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. F

c. F

d. T

e. T

f. T

g. F

h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	pundits	experts
b.	permutations	possibilities
c.	out and out	clear
d.	perennial	constant
e.	rooting	cheering
f.	yesteryear	the past
g.	oohs and aaghs	noises
h.	delectable	appetizing
i.	rank	absolute
j.	fancied	favored

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	working overtime in deciding who	will beat whom
b.	Brazil are the out and	out favorites to retain their crown
c.	They will be given a good run	for their money
d.	high expectations of their	precocious striker Wayne Rooney
e.	Non-partisan fans will be rooting	for underdogs Trinidad and Tobago
f.	the greatest player to grace	a football pitch
g.	The biggest oohs	and aaghs of the evening
h.	promises a delectable feast	of football skill and artistry
i.	minnows and rank	outsiders Togo
j.	be prepared for football	fever to grip the world

GAP FILL:

Draw made for 2006 World Cup Finals

The draw was made in Germany on Friday evening for football’s World Cup Finals. The pundits will now be working overtime in deciding who will beat whom and where the potential upsets might be. After weeks of the 32 participant nations wondering which teams they will be pitted against and analysts and armchair fans going through countless permutations, the stage is now set for the greatest show on Earth. Reigning champions Brazil are the out and out favorites to retain their crown after having won on a record five previous occasions. They will be given a good run for their money by the likes of the multi-talented Argentina, England, who have high expectations of their precocious striker Wayne Rooney, and the perennial underachievers Spain. Non-partisan fans will be rooting for underdogs Trinidad and Tobago, Togo and Angola.

The glitz and glamour in Leipzig was added to by soccer legends from yesteryear, including Pele, the greatest player to grace a football pitch. There were also appearances from supermodels and the inevitable cuddly mascots. The biggest oohs and aaghs of the evening came from the matching of Argentina with Holland, which promises a delectable feast of football skill and artistry. The game is a repeat of the 1978 Final, which Argentina won. The trickiest game might be for France, who take on minnows and rank outsiders Togo, whose players are very familiar with French football. Angola, in their first Finals, take on former colonial rulers Portugal. The tournament officially kicks off on June 9, when hosts Germany will face the highly fancied Costa Rica. Until then, be prepared for football fever to grip the world.

THE 2006 WORLD CUP FINALS DRAW

GROUP A GERMANY COSTA RICA POLAND ECUADOR	GROUP B ENGLAND PARAGUAY TRINIDAD & TOBAGO SWEDEN
GROUP C ARGENTINA IVORY COAST SERBIA & MONTENEGRO NETHERLANDS	GROUP D MEXICO IRAN ANGOLA PORTUGAL
GROUP E ITALY GHANA UNITED STATES CZECH REPUBLIC	GROUP F BRAZIL CROATIA AUSTRALIA JAPAN
GROUP G FRANCE SWITZERLAND SOUTH KOREA TOGO	GROUP H SPAIN UKRAINE TUNISIA SAUDI ARABIA

TOP