The Reading / Listening - 2018 World Cup - Level 3

France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It was a thrilling and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's victory came 20 years after their very first success in 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the competition as a player and coach. The final was a true spectacle that had quality football, controversial refereeing decisions, an own goal, a pitch invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the world watched as France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of outstanding talent, which included the next global superstar - the explosive 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.

Croatia dominated the game early on and frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a free kick after 18 minutes on the edge of Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflected in for an own goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece of control and a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed video evidence of a handball, which many pundits say was not handball. Two shots from outside Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An error from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but France held on for victory.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    2018 World Cup - Level 0,  2018 World Cup - Level 1   or  2018 World Cup - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44754965
  • https://sports.yahoo.com/france-storms-second-world-cup-title-final-victory-croatia-165354873.html
  • http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3566255/mbappe-powers-france-to-world-cup-glory-croatia-reeling-after-var-controversy


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. 2018 WORLD CUP: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about 2018 World Cup. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       France / Croatia / Moscow / successful / tournament / success / controversial / talent /
       score / free kick / own goal / penalty / handball / shots / goalkeeper / lead / victory
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. WORLD CUP: Students A strongly believe the World Cup is the greatest sporting event on Earth; Students B strongly believe otherwise.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. FOOTBALL: How could we make football more exciting? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Suggestions

Why?

Would FIFA introduce it?

Why (not)?

Game length

 

 

 

 

Offside

 

 

 

 

Red cards

 

 

 

 

Penalties

 

 

 

 

Goal size

 

 

 

 

Draws

 

 

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. FINAL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "final". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. SOCCER: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things about soccer at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • goals
  • penalties
  • the fans
  • the World Cup
  • Saturday afternoons
  • rivalries
  • the skill
  • the passion

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. thrilling a. Very much; to a great extent.
      2. hugely b. Amazingly good.
      3. tournament c. When a large number of people enter or try to take over a place.
      4. spectacle d. Having lots of public disagreement.
      5. controversial e. An amazing thing or performance to see.
      6. invasion f. Very, very, very exciting.
      7. outstanding g. A numbers of contests between a number of competitors, who compete for an overall prize.

    Paragraph 2

      8. dominated h. Made longer.
      9. frequently i. Experts in a particular subject or field who is asked to give opinions about it to the public.
      10. deservedly j. Became level.
      11. equalized k. Had a lot of control over someone or something.
      12. pundits l. A mistake.
      13. extended m. Regularly or habitually; often.
      14. error n. In a way that means people get what they worked for or for what is fair.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article said the World Cup final wasn't so thrilling.     T / F
  2. Four men have now won the World Cup as coach and player.     T / F
  3. The French goalkeeper howled during the match.     T / F
  4. Billions of people watched the final all over the world.     T / F
  5. The article said it looked like Croatia might be the first to score.     T / F
  6. It took France 18 minutes to take a free kick.     T / F
  7. Experts suggested a handball for a penalty wasn't a handball.     T / F
  8. A goalkeeping mistake led to Croatia's second goal.     T / F

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

  1. beat
  2. hugely
  3. success
  4. spectacle
  5. outstanding
  6. dominated
  7. edge
  8. pundits
  9. extended
  10. error
  1. controlled
  2. show
  3. excellent
  4. experts
  5. defeated
  6. increased
  7. triumph
  8. border
  9. mistake
  10. enormously

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. a thrilling and high-scoring end to a
  2. France's victory came 20 years after
  3. the third man to win the competition
  4. controversial refereeing
  5. a team full of outstanding
  6. Croatia dominated the game
  7. on the edge of
  8. France restored
  9. the referee reviewed video evidence
  10. France held
  1. as a player and coach
  2. early on
  3. of a handball
  4. their very first success
  5. Croatia's penalty area
  6. its lead
  7. hugely successful tournament
  8. on for victory
  9. decisions
  10. talent

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
victory
talent
third
explosive
pitch
thrilling
imposed
true

France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It was a (1) ____________ and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's (2) ____________ came 20 years after their very first success in 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the (3) ____________ man to win the competition as a player and coach. The final was a (4) ____________ spectacle that had quality football, controversial refereeing decisions, an own goal, a (5) ____________ invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the world watched as France slowly (6) ____________ their quality on the game with a team full of outstanding (7) ____________, which included the next global superstar - the (8) ____________ 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
own
early
error
evidence
hope
edge
equalized
outside

Croatia dominated the game (7) ____________ on and frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a free kick after 18 minutes on the (8) ____________ of Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflected in for an (9) ____________ goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly (10) ____________ with a beautiful piece of control and a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed video (11) ____________ of a handball, which many pundits say was not handball. Two shots from (12) ____________ Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An (13) ____________ from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia (14) ____________, but France held on for victory.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  a thrilling and high-scoring end to a ______ tournament
     a.  huge successful
     b.  hugely unsuccessful
     c.  hugely successfully
     d.  hugely successful
2)  France's victory came 20 years after their very first ______ 1998
     a.  success in
     b.  success on
     c.  succeeds in
     d.  succeeds on
3)  Deschamps became only the third man to win the competition ______ and coach
     a.  was a player
     b.  is a player
     c.  as a player
     d.  has a player
4)  controversial refereeing decisions, an own goal, a ______, and a goalkeeping howler
     a.  pitched invasion
     b.  pitching vision
     c.  patching vision
     d.  pitch invasion
5)  France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of ______
     a.  out stand on talent
     b.  out stand in talent
     c.  outstanding talent
     d.  outstand in talent

6)  Croatia dominated the game early on and frequently threatened ______
     a.  two score first
     b.  to score first
     c.  too score first
     d.  through score first
7)  Croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece of control and ______
     a.  a quality shoot
     b.  a qualities shot
     c.  a qualify shoot
     d.  a quality shot
8)  France restored its lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed ______
     a.  videos evidence
     b.  video evident
     c.  video evidently
     d.  video evidence
9)  shots from outside Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe ______ lead
     a.  extended France's
     b.  extending France's
     c.  extension France's
     d.  extend it France's
10)  France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but ______
     a.  France holding
     b.  France held on
     c.  France held in
     d.  France holding on

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

France beat Croatia 4-2 in (1) ___________________ the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It (2) ___________________ and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's victory came 20 years after their very (3) ___________________ 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the competition as a player and coach. The final was (4) ___________________ that had quality football, controversial refereeing decisions, an own goal, a pitch invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the (5) ___________________ France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of outstanding talent, which included the next global superstar - the explosive 19-(6) ___________________ Kylian Mbappe.

Croatia dominated the game (7) ___________________ frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a free kick after 18 minutes on (8) ___________________ Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflected in for an own goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece (9) ___________________ a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed video (10) ___________________ handball, which many pundits say was not handball. Two shots from outside Croatia's (11) ___________________ Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An error from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but France (12) ___________________ victory.

Comprehension questions

    1. How successful did the article say the tournament was?
    2. How many men have now won the World Cup as player and coach?
    3. What kind of refereeing decisions did the article say were made?
    4. How many people watched the World Cup final?
    5. What adjective did the article use in describing Kylian Mbappe?
    6. When did France score the first goal?
    7. From where did France retake the lead?
    8. What did the referee review to make a decision about a handball?
    9. Who said the handball was not a handball?
    10. In what minute did Croatia score their second goal?

Multiple choice quiz

1) How successful did the article say the tournament was?
a) very
b) slightly
c) hugely
d) minutely
2) How many men have now won the World Cup as player and coach?
a) 3
b) 1
c) 2
d) 4
3) What kind of refereeing decisions did the article say were made?
a) normal ones
b) straightforward
c) easy
d) controversial
4) How many people watched the World Cup final?
a) millions
b) billions
c) hundreds of thousands
d) 283,000,000
5) What adjective did the article use in describing Kylian Mbappe?
a) dynamite
b) quick
c) explosive
d) fast

6) When did France score the first goal?
a) in the 28th minute
b) in the 18th minute
c) in the 13th minute
d) in the 15th minute
7) From where did France retake the lead?
a) the edge of the penalty box
b) the corner sport
c) the centre spot
d) the penalty spot
8) What did the referee review to make a decision about a handball?
a) the rule book
b) video evidence
c) FIFA
d) a soccer website
9) Who said the handball was not a handball?
a) pundits
b) the assistant referee
c) fans
d) France's number ten
10) In what minute did Croatia score their second goal?
a) in the 66th minute
b) in the 67th minute
c) in the 68th minute
d) in the 69th minute

Role play

Role  A – Rivalries
You think rivalries is the best thing about football. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): passion, penalties or World Cup.

Role  B – Passion
You think passion is the best thing about football. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): rivalries, penalties or World Cup.

Role  C – Penalties
You think penalties is the best thing about football. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): passion, rivalries or World Cup.

Role  D – The World Cup
You think the World Cup is the best thing about football. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): passion, penalties or rivalries.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'world'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'cup'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

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

    • early
    • edge
    • piece
    • spot
    • video
    • error
    • beat
    • hugely
    • first
    • own
    • watched
    • next

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - France win 2018 FIFA World Cup final

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'football'?
    3. What do you think of the World Cup?
    4. How has this World Cup compared to others?
    5. What was the best moment of this World Cup?
    6. What was the worst moment of this World Cup?
    7. What do you think of the refereeing decisions using video replays?
    8. Who is the best player in the world, and why?
    9. How good is the World Cup for the world?
    10. How good was this World Cup for Russia?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the term 'World Cup'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Is football the greatest game in the world?
    5. Is the World Cup the greatest sporting event in the world?
    6. How would it feel to score an own goal?
    7. How would it feel to take a penalty?
    8. How would it feel to be on the losing side?
    9. What do you think the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be like?
    10. What questions would you like to ask one of the French team?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final (1) ____ the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It was a (2) ____ and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's victory came 20 years after their very first (3) ____ in 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the competition as a player and coach. The final was a true (4) ____ that had quality football, controversial refereeing decisions, an own goal, a (5) ____ invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the world watched as France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of (6) ____ talent, which included the next global superstar - the explosive 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.

    Croatia dominated the game early (7) ____ and frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a free kick after 18 minutes on the (8) ____ of Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflected in for an (9) ____ goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece of control and a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its lead from the penalty spot (10) ____ the referee reviewed video evidence of a handball, which many pundits say was not handball. Two shots from (11) ____ Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An error from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but France held (12) ____ for victory.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     at     (b)     of     (c)     of     (d)     on    
    2. (a)     thrilling     (b)     thrills     (c)     thrill     (d)     thrilled    
    3. (a)     success     (b)     successful     (c)     succeed     (d)     successfully    
    4. (a)     spectacle     (b)     receptacle     (c)     obstacle     (d)     respectable    
    5. (a)     patch     (b)     pitch     (c)     batch     (d)     bitch    
    6. (a)     astoundingly     (b)     outings     (c)     standard     (d)     outstanding    
    7. (a)     in     (b)     up     (c)     on     (d)     off    
    8. (a)     verge     (b)     limit     (c)     crest     (d)     edge    
    9. (a)     own     (b)     down     (c)     owe     (d)     only    
    10. (a)     then     (b)     after     (c)     so     (d)     forward    
    11. (a)     offside     (b)     outside     (c)     onside     (d)     backside    
    12. (a)     in     (b)     to     (c)     on     (d)     at

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. a ihitllrgn and high-scoring end
    2. a lgheuy successful tournament
    3. iqauytl football
    4. a pitch vinnaois
    5. a team full of iudntgaonst talent
    6. the velxsioep 19-year-old forward

    Paragraph 2

    1. Croatia tadndoiem the game
    2. Croatia's etnplay area
    3. a beautiful piece of ontclor
    4. referee reviewed video eeevincd
    5. Mbappe eenedtdx France's lead
    6. France held on for rtcivyo

    Put the text back together

    (...)  evidence of a handball, which many pundits say was not handball. Two shots from
    (...)  from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but France held on for victory.
    (...)  kick after 18 minutes on the edge of Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflected in for an own
    (  1  ) France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It was a thrilling
    (...)  success in 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the
    (...)  world watched as France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of outstanding
    (...)  decisions, an own goal, a pitch invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the
    (...)  and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's victory came 20 years after their very first
    (...)  of control and a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed video
    (...)  outside Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An error
    (...)  competition as a player and coach. The final was a true spectacle that had quality football, controversial refereeing
    (...)  Croatia dominated the game early on and frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a free
    (...)  talent, which included the next global superstar - the explosive 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.
    (...)  goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece

    Put the words in the right order

    1. to   hugely   A   high-scoring   a   end   tournament   .   successful
    2. years   Victory   came   after   20   success   .   first   their
    3. spectacle   true   that   quality   football   .   had   A
    4. Billions   the   people   watched   .   of   around   world
    5. quality   slowly   France   the   imposed   on   game   .   their
    6. 18   free   minutes   .   got   France   after   kick   a
    7. a   of   control   .   Croatia   equalized   beautiful   with   piece
    8. penalty   spot   .   the   lead   from   restored   France   its
    9. reviewed   referee   handball   .   video   The   of   evidence   a
    10. Two   from   Croatia's   area   .   shots   penalty   outside

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final / finality of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It was a thrill / thrilling and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's victory / victor came 20 years after their very first success / successful in 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man to winner / win the competition as a player and coach. The final was a true spectacle that had quality / qualify football, controversial refereeing decisions, an owe / own goal, a pitch invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the world watched was / as France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team fully / full of outstanding talent, which included the next global superstar - the explosive 19-year-old forwards / forward Kylian Mbappe.

    Croatia domination / dominated the game early on and frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a freed / free kick after 18 minutes on the edge / edgy of Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflection / deflected in for an own goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly equalized / equality with a beautiful piece of control and a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its leading / lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed video evidence of a handball, which many / much pundits say was not handball. Two shots from outside / outer Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An erroneous / error from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but France held on for / from victory.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    F r_n c_ b__ t C r__ t__ 4 - 2 _n t h_ f_n_l _f t h_ F I F A W_r l d C_p _n M_s c_w _n S_n d_y n_g h t . I t w_s _ t h r_l l_n g _n d h_g h - s c_r_n g _n d t_ _ h_g_l y s_c c_s s f_l t__ r n_m_n t . F r_n c_' s v_c t_r y c_m_ 2 0 y__ r s _f t_r t h__ r v_r y f_r s t s_c c_s s _n 1 9 9 8 . F r_n c h c__ c h D_d__ r D_s c h_m p s b_c_m_ _n l y t h_ t h_r d m_n t_ w_n t h_ c_m p_t_t__ n _s _ p l_y_r _n d c__ c h . T h_ f_n_l w_s _ t r__ s p_c t_c l_ t h_t h_d q__ l_t y f__ t b_l l , c_n t r_v_r s__ l r_f_r___n g d_c_s__ n s , _n _w n g__ l , _ p_t c h _n v_s__ n , _n d _ g__ l k__ p_n g h_w l_r . B_l l__ n s _f p__ p l_ _r__ n d t h_ w_r l d w_t c h_d _s F r_n c_ s l_w l y _m p_s_d t h__ r q__ l_t y _n t h_ g_m_ w_t h _ t__ m f_l l _f __ t s t_n d_n g t_l_n t , w h_c h _n c l_d_d t h_ n_x t g l_b_l s_p_r s t_r - t h_ _x p l_s_v_ 1 9 - y__ r -_l d f_r w_r d K y l__ n M b_p p_.

    C r__ t__ d_m_n_t_d t h_ g_m_ __ r l y _n _n d f r_q__ n t l y t h r__ t_n_d t_ s c_r_ f_r s t . H_w_v_r , F r_n c_ g_t _ f r__ k_c k _f t_r 1 8 m_n_t_s _n t h_ _d g_ _f C r__ t__ ' s p_n_l t y _r__ . T h_ k_c k w_s d_f l_c t_d _n f_r _n _w n g__ l b y t h_ C r__ t__ n f_r w_r d M_r__ M_n d z_k_c . C r__ t__ d_s_r v_d l y _q__ l_z_d w_t h _ b___t_f_l p__ c_ _f c_n t r_l _n d _ q__ l_t y s h_t f r_m I v_n P_r_s_c . F r_n c_ r_s t_r_d _t s l__ d f r_m t h_ p_n_l t y s p_t _f t_r t h_ r_f_r__ r_v__ w_d v_d__ _v_d_n c_ _f _ h_n d b_l l , w h_c h m_n y p_n d_t s s_y w_s n_t h_n d b_l l . T w_ s h_t s f r_m __ t s_d_ C r__ t__ ' s p_n_l t y _r__ f r_m P__ l P_g b_ _n d M b_p p_ _x t_n d_d F r_n c_' s l__ d . A n _r r_r f r_m F r_n c_ g__ l k__ p_r H_g_ L l_r_s _n t h_ 6 9 t h m_n_t_ g_v_ C r__ t__ h_p_, b_t F r_n c_ h_l d _n f_r v_c t_r y .

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    france beat croatia 42 in the final of the fifa world cup in moscow on sunday night it was a thrilling and highscoring end to a hugely successful tournament frances victory came 20 years after their very first success in 1998 french coach didier deschamps became only the third man to win the competition as a player and coach the final was a true spectacle that had quality football controversial refereeing decisions an own goal a pitch invasion and a goalkeeping howler billions of people around the world watched as france slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of outstanding talent which included the next global superstar the explosive 19yearold forward kylian mbappe

    croatia dominated the game early on and frequently threatened to score first however france got a free kick after 18 minutes on the edge of croatias penalty area the kick was deflected in for an own goal by the croatian forward mario mandzukic croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece of control and a quality shot from ivan perisic france restored its lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed video evidence of a handball which many pundits say was not handball two shots from outside croatias penalty area from paul pogba and mbappe extended frances lead an error from france goalkeeper hugo lloris in the 69th minute gave croatia hope but france held on for victory

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    FrancebeatCroatia4-2inthefinaloftheFIFAWorldCupinMoscowonSu
    ndaynight.Itwasathrillingandhigh-scoringendtoahugelysuccessfu
    ltournament.France'svictorycame20yearsaftertheirveryfirstsucces
    sin1998.FrenchcoachDidierDeschampsbecameonlythethirdmantow
    inthecompetitionasaplayerandcoach.Thefinalwasatruespectacletha
    thadqualityfootball,controversialrefereeingdecisions,anowngoal,ap
    itchinvasion,andagoalkeepinghowler.Billionsofpeoplearoundthewor
    ldwatchedasFranceslowlyimposedtheirqualityonthegamewithatea
    mfullofoutstandingtalent,whichincludedthenextglobalsuperstar-th
    eexplosive19-year-oldforwardKylianMbappe.Croatiadominatedth
    egameearlyonandfrequentlythreatenedtoscorefirst.However,Franc
    egotafreekickafter18minutesontheedgeofCroatia'spenaltyarea.The
    kickwasdeflectedinforanowngoalbytheCroatianforwardMarioMandz
    ukic.Croatiadeservedlyequalizedwithabeautifulpieceofcontrolandaq
    ualityshotfromIvanPerisic.Francerestoreditsleadfromthepenaltyspo
    taftertherefereereviewedvideoevidenceofahandball,whichmanypun
    ditssaywasnothandball.TwoshotsfromoutsideCroatia'spenaltyareaf
    romPaulPogbaandMbappeextendedFrance'slead.AnerrorfromFranc
    egoalkeeperHugoLlorisinthe69thminutegaveCroatiahope,butFranc
    eheldonforvictory.

    Free writing

    Write about 2018 World Cup for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    The World Cup is the greatest event in the world. Discuss.

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    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 out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. 2018 WORLD CUP: Make a poster about the 2018 World Cup. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. FOOTBALL (SOCCER): Write a magazine article about football being the greatest game in the world. Include imaginary interviews with people who believe this and with people who do not.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on 2018 World Cup. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on the 2018 World Cup. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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