Hablando de La Copa Mundial ♫ 243

Never watched a soccer match? No problem. The FIFA World Cup is coming to the US, Mexico, and Canada this summer — and it's the perfect excuse to level up your Spanish! ⚽

In this episode, we start from the very beginning — what the World Cup is, how the game works, and the key Spanish vocabulary you need to follow a match and have a conversation about the tournament in Spanish.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

🏆 What 'La Copa Mundial" means and why it's such a big deal in the Spanish-speaking world

⚽ The basic reglas de fútbol explained— positions, scoring, and how a game is won

🎙️ The exact words and phrases you'll hear during a Spanish-language broadcast

Listen to this episode and you'll be ready to watch every match en español!

🏆 Listen to all World Cup episodes

Part 1: World Cup 101 — ¿Qué es la Copa Mundial?

1. La Copa Mundial - The World Cup

2. El mundial - The world cup ("¿Vas a ver el mundial?" - Are you going to watch the World Cup?)

3. Selecciones nacionales - National teams

4. La selección de [País] - The [Country] national team (e.g., La selección de México)

5. La fase de grupos - The group stage

Part 2: The Rules — ¿Cómo se juega?

1. Un partido - A match ("Hoy hay partido" - There's a match today)

2. El primer tiempo - The first half

3. El segundo tiempo - The second half

4. El medio tiempo - Halftime

5. El balón - The ball

6. La portería - The goal (the net)

7. Un gol - A goal

8. Un empate - A tie

9. La prórroga - Extra time

10. Tanda de penales - Penalty shootout

11. Fuera de lugar - Offside

12. El árbitro - The referee

13. Tarjeta amarilla - Yellow card

14. Tarjeta roja - Red card

15. ¡Expulsado! - Expelled/Ejected!

Part 3: Las Posiciones — Who's Who on the Field

1. Los jugadores - The players

2. El portero - The goalkeeper ("El portero hizo una gran atajada" - The goalkeeper made a great save)

3. El defensa - The defender ("Los defensas están formando una línea" - The defenders are forming a line)

4. El mediocampista - The midfielder ("El mediocampista controló el balón" - The midfielder controlled the ball)

5. El delantero - The forward or striker ("El delantero metió el gol" - The forward scored the goal)

6. El director técnico / El DT - The coach ("El DT hizo un cambio" - The coach made a substitution)

Tanda de penales con Argentina y Francia (La Copa Mundial 2022)

🎉 Become a Podcast Supporter today for just $7 and get an exclusive regalito 🎁 FREE access to the course 7 Songs to Transform Your Spanish! 🎶

Learn conversational phrases and practical grammar from the lyrics of my 7 favorite songs--plus episode transcripts and exclusive artist interviews

👉🏽 Claim your gift and support the show: learnspanishconsalsa.com/support

Support the show

⭐Leave us a rating & review and we just might give you a shout out on a future episode ;)

📩 Join our e-mail list and be the first to know when new episodes are released, plus get access to exclusive listener discounts + giveaways

Connect with us...
📲 Follow us on Instagram
👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 Join our Facebook Community
▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel
📜 Get transcripts when you sign up as a show supporter