You're listening to the Footglitch Podcast. Love football, learn English.
Will Robert Lewandowski feature in the next big tournament?
Who will win their quarterfinal battles in Euro 2024?
Who will lift the Euro 2024 trophy?
And what does it mean when a player is getting on a bit?
Hello listeners, I'm Zdenek Lukas and you're listening to another episode of the brand new English learning podcast about football called the Footglitch Podcast.
Today's guest on the Footglitch Podcast is Staszek from Poland, aka Stan.
Hi Stan, welcome to the podcast. How are you?
Hi Zdenek, thank you. I'm fine. It's really a pleasure to be here. Thank you for inviting me.
Yeah, it's a pleasure for me as well. We've been in touch for a long time and I know you are a huge football fan.
So of course we are talking about the Euro 2024 here and I thought I might as well have Staszek on.
Thank you for that. I'm following almost each of the episodes of Footglitch so I'm really honored that you decided to invite me.
Great, so it's a pleasure to have a listener on the podcast of course.
So Staszek, you are from Poland and your team didn't do exactly well. Actually it's a very similar story to my team, to Czechia.
So have you managed to get over this disappointment already? Because I'm still struggling.
We didn't expect anything from the team. Really the expectations in Poland were on so low level that after the first game in the Netherlands they played really well.
Despite the fact that we lost the games but the fact how they presented was really something good.
So our expectations were a little bit higher but unfortunately the second game with Austria was really poor.
We lost and we were the first team actually who was eliminated.
So it was kind of sad but I see some positive sides because there are some changes in our team.
We got plenty of young players, some old players like Lewandowski for example need to step aside a little bit.
I think we are in the process of changing the generation and we got a really good coach.
I'm not a huge fan of him but the atmosphere in the team is quite good.
I'm definitely a supporter always. I remember three years ago I was on Euro 2020 but it was in 2021 in Sevilla.
When we drew 1-1 with Spain on their land so it was really successful.
I remember how we were excited but unfortunately in Poland most people did not believe that we could achieve something.
We hoped that within the next Euro we would play better.
Being realistic here and objective both our teams did not deserve to make it to the last 16 and then the quarter-final.
I think there were better teams at the tournament.
I like your positivity. I can't exactly say I can be positive in the same way about the Czech team.
They put their hearts in the Czech Republic. Despite the fact that Barak received a red card in the last game with Turkey,
they really did a great job and were really close.
Turkey is like a host on this tournament.
That's right. They have a lot of support in Germany because there are so many Turkish people living there.
No Lewandowski in the next tournament? Was this his last tournament?
I'm not sure. We talked about it with friends and there are some voices that he probably will be part of the team.
Of course if we qualify for the next World Cup because it's not that easy.
Maybe it depends if he will be able to start from a bench for example.
It can happen.
He can still have an impact from the bench because he's an experienced player.
Let's be honest, he's getting on a bit. Who knows?
We can see that these players who are around 40 years of age and they have been big superstars,
we can see that it's not always the best thing to do to keep these players around.
We can see it on the example of Cristiano Ronaldo.
But people are divided on this. Some people think he's a legend of football and he should always play.
But others say that he's making it harder for other players to show what they can do.
In a team like Portugal that is full of talent, maybe he's just taking someone's spot.
I'm a huge supporter of Lewandowski. The things that he's done for our country, for me he's the best player.
I don't like people who criticize him. There are plenty of people like that in my family.
We argue every time about it.
I understand. It's always difficult.
Especially if someone has the status of a legend or deserves to be in the team on merit and on the previous achievements.
But at the same time it should be about the current form.
We should look at what the player can really bring to the team.
And weigh up the fact that the player is getting on.
Enough of talking about Poland and the Czech Republic.
We should move on to the quarterfinals.
We have got eight teams there. It is a quarterfinal.
Spain is playing against Germany tonight.
Portugal is against France tonight.
Next day we have England against Switzerland.
The Netherlands is taking on Turkey.
Let's go through each of these games and try to predict what the result might be.
The first game is Spain vs Germany. What do you think, Stan?
In my opinion, Spain so far is the best team.
They played really consistent football.
Mostly they control the game.
Their wings are really great.
Jamal and Nico Williams are super fast.
Young is something amazing.
As a midfielder, Rodri Pedri controls the game.
I only see some negatives on their defence.
But for example, maybe Morata is not playing so well.
I remember when we were in Spain, the Spanish people called him an offside guy.
I wonder why.
Always in an offside position. Is that why?
Definitely. His performance is not that great in this tournament.
But the rest is super good.
He is also always criticised by the fans in Spain.
But he has got a track record of scoring goals.
That's probably why he is being picked.
Yes, statistics are on his side.
For me, this is a game that should probably be the final.
I think this is the game of arguably the best two teams.
Germany is the host.
For me, they have fantastic support.
They have been playing alright.
There was one game that was not exactly brilliant.
The game against Switzerland was their worst game.
But overall, they also have a team of fantastic players.
Jamal Musiala has scored three goals.
Then they have this big guy, Fyl Krig, who can come on from the bench.
Some people say he might even start this one.
Then Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen doesn't even start sometimes.
He is also a German wonder kid.
Of course, we need to mention Toni Kroos in the middle of the park.
He is pulling the strings.
Yes, definitely. I saw some statistics that Fyl Krig is scoring every 55 minutes.
Usually, he starts on the bench. So, it's crazy statistics.
It's really tough to predict the result of this game.
I will support Spain because football is really attractive.
Despite the fact that in Germany I have plenty of friends from my company.
I hope they will not listen to this podcast.
I hope Spain will win.
Do you know this famous quote by Garen Inecker?
You know that there are 22 players chasing the ball.
And always Germany will win.
I hope it will not be the same this time.
I can see this game going to extra time and possibly even penalties.
I think this will be a very tight game.
I look forward to it.
Yes, definitely.
The next one on the menu is Portugal vs France.
That promises an attractive game as well.
It's also crazy to predict the result of this game because there are two teams that are really strong.
This part of the draw is crazy.
The second one is much weaker.
Here, I will probably support...
I don't know, to be honest.
I like two teams but I don't like the performance of France.
Their huge advantage is super strong defense with Saliba.
I'm a gunner so I usually support Arsenal's players.
But their offense is not playing well.
Mbappe has some problems with his nose after the injury.
He has to wear a mask.
Who do you think will win this one?
I will go with extra time and probably penalties.
I'm sure Cristiano Ronaldo will be crying whether he loses or wins.
I think that's the reason why people love him.
He's giving everything he's got.
Personally, my secret tip is that France wins this one.
The first time they show up, I think it's because the Portuguese can't sit back.
They will want to play football with them.
I think they will be punished for it by France.
That's my secret tip.
I don't mind whichever of these two teams advance because they are both excellent teams.
The champ as a coach is worth mentioning.
His statistics are really good.
I have a French friend who told me that they believe that his cat always brings luck.
His haircut?
No, his cat.
I got it.
On the other side of the draw, as you said, it's slightly weaker.
But still two interesting ties.
We've got England versus Switzerland.
What do you think will happen there?
Switzerland is for me one of the most organised teams in the tournament.
I'm really happy that they are playing so well with Akangy as a leader of the defensive.
Chaka as a...
Holding mixed leader.
Yeah, his performance is really good.
Some players like Shakiri for example.
I think he will start on the bench.
But really strong Mbolo and this player Mdoye from Bologna.
His performance is really good.
On the other side we have England, one of the overrated teams in the tournament.
They almost lost with Slovakia.
So maybe it will be a trigger that they will change something.
We will see.
But so far they are really under a lot of criticism.
And I know that people in England are really pissed.
Southgate is really not in a good position.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is interesting. You said they are pissed.
Actually in British English that means they are drunk.
I think you meant they are pissed off.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. They are pissed off.
It's interesting because pissed in American English it means pissed off in British English.
So you are right as well.
It just sounds funny because they are also drunk probably.
Because they like to drink, especially during matches.
I saw some video when Valingam scored a goal.
How they celebrated. It was crazy.
What happens is that whenever they score a goal they throw the beer.
They will get rid of the beer and it spills everywhere.
And then they need to buy a new one.
So I think it's a great opportunity for beer making companies to make a lot of money if England score a lot of goals.
Because then they have to buy a new beer each time.
For sure.
Alright, so for me Stan, like France, I think England will finally show up in this one.
But it's not so clear cut for me because if Switzerland keep England at bay for a long time,
then they might start getting nervous and something similar to the Slovakian game can happen actually.
So I'm not sure about this one. It could go again to penalties extra time.
But I would put the money on England again.
But not as sure about this game as I was with France.
Yeah, definitely.
And then we have the last game. And that's the Netherlands, Turkey.
So what do you think about this one?
I didn't expect that I will say that.
But probably the Netherlands for me right now is one of the main candidates to be in the final.
But it's mostly not because of how they are playing, but it's because of the draw.
It's really good for them.
Austria lost with Turkey.
So right now they will play against Turkey.
Last game versus Romania was really good for them.
But I think it's because of the way how Romanian players were playing and the tactics,
because they were really offensive.
I think that if you let the play,
the Netherlands players using counterattacks, if you will be not deep enough,
because they have really speed players, really fast players like Cody Gagpo,
Xabi Simons, Malen.
So if you give them space to play counterattacks, it will be tough to stop it.
And Turkey are such an unpredictable team.
They are capable of anything.
And when I say anything, I mean anything.
It could be a fantastic performance.
It could be a worse performance.
They are capable of moments of brilliance.
They have some incredible players like Arda Gülen.
These guys are just out of this world.
So you never know.
Anything could happen.
And I think in this game in particular, it's really important who scores the first goal.
If it's the Turks, I would favor the Turkish to actually go to the semifinal.
That's my prediction.
If not, then it's going to be the Dutch.
Yeah. And it's really likely that Turkey will score by free kick.
They did it two times with Austria.
Like you mentioned, Arda Gülen, his passes are really good.
So the Netherlands should be afraid of this part of the game.
Exactly. Exactly.
Okay, Stan, I'm going to ask you one last question.
Can you please respond quickly?
Who do you think will win the tournament?
I will go with Spain.
Okay, I will say Germany to make it interesting.
But by the time people are listening to this podcast, I think they will probably already know the result.
But that doesn't matter.
This is an English learning podcast.
As long as we discuss football, I don't think it matters.
Right, Stan, it's been a real pleasure to have you on the podcast.
Thank you very much for talking to me and have a great day, man.
Thank you, Zdenek.
It was really a pleasure to talk with you about football and we'll talk to each other next time.
Absolutely. All right, man. Take care. Bye bye.
Take care. Bye bye.
Welcome back.
In this part of the show, as always, I'm going to teach you something.
This is the language corner.
This is the bit that you like the most.
I'm not sure actually if you like this bit the most.
You probably like it the least.
But that's where I showcase my teaching abilities.
And today I would like to explain the phrasal verb to get on.
Because I said in this episode when I was talking about Lewandowski, the Polish player,
I said he's getting on a bit.
Yeah. So what does it mean if a player, a football player or any kind of person,
any human being is getting on?
Well, it means that that player is getting old.
It's euphemism for saying that player is getting old.
If you say someone is getting old, that sounds quite strong.
So instead you can say, oh, he or she is getting on a bit.
That sounds a bit weaker.
And as you know, in the English language, people like to talk in an indirect way in order not to offend anyone.
Yeah. So that's a lovely phrase to use.
But you could also say he's not the youngest anymore.
That would be your alternative.
When it comes to these phrasal verbs, by the way, these are verbs which have two parts.
Get on and they are used together, right? To get on.
This one, by the way, is tricky because it has other meanings, right?
So the first meaning is to be getting old.
But then you can also get on with someone, which means to have a good relationship with someone.
For example, I don't know, Lewandowski is getting on with his teammates,
which means there are good relationships between Lewandowski and other players in the Polish squad.
And you could also get on a bus, right?
You could get on a train, get on a plane, which means to basically enter that vehicle.
The opposite is to get off the bus.
And then one more is you can ask someone a question.
How are you getting on?
It sort of means how are you doing?
Usually it refers to some specific activity.
For example, how are you getting on with that house you're building or something like that?
How are you getting on? Are you successful with it?
So that's another meaning.
And I'm sure there are more.
Just be careful with these phrasal verbs because they have several different meanings
and they might be used in a different way.
So hopefully this has been useful for you as always.
Thank you very much for listening to this episode of the Footglitch Podcast.
If you would like to see me when I talk to my guests,
then most of the episodes are actually also on YouTube.
You can find them. Just Google the Footglitch Podcast
and it will take you to my YouTube channel and you can subscribe to it if you really want to.
Okay, guys, thank you very much again and I'll speak to you soon.
Take care. Bye-bye.