First off I’ll say this is a great time to give the sport a chance, no other stage like it then the World Cup.

Off the top of my head:

Pitch – The is the playing field. “The U.S. will try to play take advantage of a wet pitch this evening”

Challenge – This is essentially defending. “Onyewu made an excellent challenge to take the ball from Rooney”

Through pass/ball – A through pass is one where you lead the recipient of the ball down the field instead of passing it right to them so they can make a “run” towards goal for a shot or cross.

Good Ball – A good pass or cross to a teammate.

Group Stage – 4 teams in a group. Teams play each other once each. 1 point for a draw, 3 points for a win. Top two teams points in the group stage move on to the round of 16.

Equalizer – A goal that ties the match up.

This is all I’ve got for now. Feel free to ask any questions of terms you’ve heard. If I know them I’ll answer and maybe others will join in as well. Hope it helped some and happy WC watching!

Howler – A horrible mistake, usually an amateurish one that directly leads to a goal. (i.e. What Ben Green did against the U.S.)

Foul – When one player does something illegal to another player, the referee may call a “foul” and award the victim’s team a free kick from the spot of the foul. There are no limit to the number of fouls a player or team may commit.

Cautioned – When a player receives a yellow card. Yellow cards are given for particularly egregious fouls, intentionally touching the ball with your hands, fouling a player while in the penalty box, or a number of other reasons. 2 yellow cards —> 1 red card (and automatic ejection).

Sent off – When a player is shown a red card and ejected from the game. This can be due to receiving 2 yellow cards in one game or due to a foul that is so egregious that it deserves a direct red.

Other rules relating to cards: If a player receives 2 yellow cards cumulatively throughout the entire group stage (not necessarily in the same game), he is suspended for his team’s next game. If a player receives a red card in any game for any reason, he is automatically suspected for his team’s next 2 games, and is subject to additional suspensions pending a review. (In the World Cup, the group stage is only 3 games, so this usually means the player’s tournament is over.)

Might post some more if I think of some more later… as Esteban said, feel free to make requests!

I was just a little confused watching the U.S. vs. England on Saturday.

“He missed a Sitter” – the player misses a shot on goal that should be converted on most occasions by the average soccer player.

An idiot

… Clearance – When a player kicks (or “clears”) the ball out of his penalty area, usually towards midfield or out of touch. Also, since I mentioned it…

Out of touch – When a ball goes out of bounds along the side of the field. (The sidelines are called “touch lines”… hence, out of touch.)

Offside - the attacking player receiving a pass must have at least two people between him and the goal when the pass is made (not when he receives it, so he can outrun a defender to the ball), or else he is offside. The exception is when another attacking player has the ball past all the defenders, in which case the ball player can pass to someone behind him. It’s a tricky rule, but that’s what all the ESPN shaded area replays are for.

Tackle - can mean the same as challenge, but is usually referring to when a defender slides on the ground to get the ball from the attacker. In case you didn’t know, as long as the defender gets the ball first, it’s usually not a foul no matter how hard the attacker goes flying. If the defender doesn’t get the ball, it’s always a foul. If the defender gets the ball first but also does something dangerous (e.g., “studs up” meaning the cleats are facing the other guys leg instead of the ground), it can still be a foul.

Advantage - when the referee decides not to call a foul because the offended team is in a good position or has a good scoring opportunity. This is entirely up to the referee’s discretion, and usually if no particular advantage is gained after three or four seconds the referee will call the original foul. The only “American” sport analogy I can think of is in hockey, where I believe the refs can wait to call a penalty until the fouled team loses the puck. Back to soccer, the referee can play advantage even if the foul was bad enough to warrant a yellow or even red card, and still will give the card after advantage is over (even if the fouled team scores a goal).

The Ol’ Onion Bag – if you ever hear Tommy Smyth announcing, this refers to the back of the net.

Volley - when someone kicks the ball as it is coming down out of the air

Half Volley - when someone lets an airborne ball hit the ground and kicks it as it is coming back up

Holding midfielder – a midfielder who is playing right in front of the defense. Usually he will not contribute much in attack but is responsible for defending the creative midfielder on the other team.

Marking - picking a particular player to defend

Kit = Uniform
Shirt = Jersey
Boots = Cleats
Side = Team

for letting me know more terms. Now don’t forget to watch the game this morning…