Portuguese for football

Golo, penalty, offside: how people in Portugal talk about football — in the stadium, in the café and among friends.

33 sentences · 3 dialogues · 17 words

Why this field

In Portugal football is a topic that connects almost everyone. If you can join in, you quickly find company — in the café, at work, in the family.

The language is lively and shows grammar that otherwise seems dry: the pretérito perfeito for what has just happened, estar a for the match in progress and the superlative in -íssimo.

What you will be able to do

Goals by level. Tick what you can already do — the tick stays in this browser only.

A1I can ask who is playing and what the score is.
A2I can say how a match ended.
A2I can arrange to watch a match with someone.
B1I can describe a moment in a match and comment on a referee’s decision.
B1I can join a team and ask about training.
B2I can talk a match over afterwards and give reasons for my view.

Core vocabulary

17 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.

o futebolfootballA2
o jogothe game, the matchA2
a equipathe teamA2
jogarto play (a game)A2
o clubethe clubB1
o adeptothe supporter, the fanB1
o estádiothe stadiumB1
o árbitrothe refereeB1
o golothe goal (the point scored)B1
a faltathe foul, the mistakeB1
o empatethe drawB1
o treinadorthe coachB1
o campeonatothe championshipB1
a vitóriathe win, the victoryB1
cartão amareloa yellow cardB2
fora de jogooffsideB2
grandes penalidadesthe penalty shoot-outB2

Practise as flashcards Card box Mixed round

Typical situations

Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.

The match in the café

You arrive late at the café where your friend is watching the match.

Nico
Então, como está o jogo?So, how’s the match going?
Ana
Um a zero para nós, mas estamos a jogar mal.One–nil to us, but we’re playing badly.
Nico
Quem marcou?Who scored?
Ana
O número nove, de cabeça.The number nine, with a header.
Nico
Pedimos alguma coisa? Eu pago.Shall we order something? I’m paying.
Ana
Pode ser, duas imperiais. E que eles não empatem!OK, two small beers. And let’s hope they don’t equalise!

Joining a team

You want to play football again in your new town.

Player
Olá, queria jogar na equipa de quinta-feira.Hi, I’d like to play in the Thursday team.
Coach
Ótimo. Já jogaste em algum clube?Great. Have you played for a club before?
Player
Já, na Alemanha jogava a defesa.Yes, in Germany I used to play in defence.
Coach
Perfeito, faltam-nos defesas. Treinamos das oito às dez.Perfect, we’re short of defenders. We train from eight to ten.
Player
É preciso pagar alguma coisa?Is there anything to pay?
Coach
Uma pequena quota por mês. Aparece na quinta e falamos.A small monthly fee. Come along on Thursday and we’ll talk.

After the match

You are arguing about a penalty.

Carlos
Viste o penálti? Não foi nada.Did you see that penalty? It was nothing.
Lea
Então, o defesa puxou-lhe a camisola.Come on, the defender pulled his shirt.
Carlos
Mas o avançado atirou-se, toda a gente viu.But the striker dived, everyone saw it.
Lea
Se o árbitro visse as imagens, não marcava aquilo.If the referee looked at the replay, he wouldn’t give that.
Carlos
Pronto, ao menos empatámos no fim.Oh well, at least we equalised in the end.
Lea
Pois, e com um golo lindíssimo.Yes, and with a beautiful goal.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

Quem joga hoje?Who’s playing today?
A1neutral
A que horas começa?What time does it start?
A1neutral
Quem ganha?Who’s winning?
A1neutral
Quanto está?What’s the score?
A1casual Short for Quanto está o jogo?, “What’s the score in the match?”
Vamos, rapazes!Come on, lads!
A1casual
Vemos o jogo no café da esquina?Shall we watch the match at the café on the corner?
A2casual
Quem está a ganhar?Who’s ahead?
A2neutral
Jogo futebol às terças com uns colegas.I play football with some colleagues on Tuesdays.
A2neutral
O jogo começa às nove da noite.The match starts at nine in the evening.
A2neutral
Ontem ganhámos dois a zero.Yesterday we won two–nil.
A2neutral
Perdemos outra vez.We’ve lost again.
A2neutral
A equipa da minha cidade está a jogar muito bem este ano.My city’s team is playing very well this year.
A2neutral
Vamos comprar os bilhetes pela internet.We’re going to buy the tickets online.
A2neutral
O guarda-redes defendeu tudo.The goalkeeper saved everything.
A2neutral
Força, ainda há meia hora!Come on, there’s still half an hour!
A2casual
O meu filho joga numa equipa de miúdos.My son plays in a children’s team.
A2neutral
Que grande jogo!What a match!
A2neutral
És de que clube?Which club do you support?
B1casual
Quem marcou o primeiro golo?Who scored the first goal?
B1neutral
O árbitro marcou penálti.The referee has given a penalty.
B1neutral
Acabou empatado.It ended in a draw.
B1neutral
Ó árbitro, isso é falta!Ref, that’s a foul!
B1casual
Marcaram-nos um golo no último minuto.They scored against us in the last minute.
B1neutral
O treinador fez três substituições ao intervalo.The coach made three substitutions at half-time.
B1neutral
Se ganharmos no domingo, vamos à final.If we win on Sunday, we’re through to the final.
B1neutral
Os adeptos cantaram o jogo inteiro.The fans sang the whole match.
B1neutral
Acho que o jogador se atirou para o chão.I think the player dived.
B1neutral
O campeonato este ano está muito renhido.The league is very close this year.
B1neutral
Era fora de jogo claríssimo, toda a gente viu.That was clearly offside, everyone saw it.
B2neutral claríssimo is the superlative in -íssimo: “extremely clear”.
Levou cartão amarelo por protestar.He got a yellow card for dissent.
B2neutral
O jogo decidiu-se nas grandes penalidades.The match was decided on penalties.
B2neutral
Se o guarda-redes estivesse em forma, não perdíamos tantos jogos.If the goalkeeper were on form, we wouldn’t lose so many matches.
B2neutral
Na primeira parte jogámos muito mal, mas depois a equipa acordou.We played very badly in the first half, but then the team woke up.
B2neutral

What matters here

In Portugal a goal is a golo, the team an equipa, the fans adeptos. In Brazil people say gol, time and torcedores.
You are of a club: És de que clube? asks which team someone supports.
People shout and swear at football. What is normal in the stands quickly sounds rude in a conversation with strangers.
The match is often on in the café; if you watch, you order something and join in the commentary calmly.

Quick quiz

6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Portuguese, then open it to compare.

Who’s playing today?
Quem joga hoje?
The match starts at nine in the evening.
O jogo começa às nove da noite.
What a match!
Que grande jogo!
If we win on Sunday, we’re through to the final.
Se ganharmos no domingo, vamos à final.

Keep learning

The grammar behind it

Word lists that go with it

Practise

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Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.