{"id":530044,"date":"2026-07-07T19:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/530044\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T19:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:26:18","slug":"common-soccer-terms-and-what-they-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/530044\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Soccer Terms and What They Mean"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 World Cup is captivating audiences across the globe, drawing in lifelong fans and newcomers alike. For those watching their first match, there are inevitably some phrases commentators have tossed around that might leave new fans scratching their heads.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quick primer on some common soccer terms, with accompanying graphics from Northeastern\u2019s NetSI Sport research group to illustrate what these terms mean on the field \u2026 err, pitch.<\/p>\n

Low block<\/p>\n

A defensive strategy in which a team positions its players deep into their own half, packing players closer to their own net to deny the opponent scoring chances near the goal.<\/p>\n

The heat map graphic below shows Ghana\u2019s low block strategy against England. The darker the red section, the more time Ghana\u2019s players spent in that area. In this match, Ghana spent most of its time protecting its own section of the pitch near the goal, with two-thirds of its defensive plays happening there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The heat map graphic above shows Ghana\u2019s low block strategy against England. Courtesy of NetSI Sport<\/p>\n

Low block? Final third? Here\u2019s what these and other soccer terms mean\"\"\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Set pieces<\/p>\n

Dead-ball situations where play has stopped temporarily \u2014 like corners, free kicks and throw-ins \u2014 and where the offense can set up rehearsed plays to create scoring chances\u00a0<\/p>\n

The graphic below shows England\u2019s set pieces against Ghana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The gold lines represent throw-ins, when the ball goes out of bounds off the defense and the offense throws the ball back in overhead from that spot.<\/p>\n

The red lines show corner kicks, which are awarded when the defense knocks the ball out of bounds between the goal and the corner of the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The blue lines represent free kicks, when the offense is awarded the chance to shoot or pass from the spot where it was fouled by the defense.<\/p>\n

\"\"The graphic above shows England\u2019s set pieces against Ghana.\u00a0Courtesy of NetSI Sport<\/p>\n

Low block? Final third? Here\u2019s what these and other soccer terms mean\"\"\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Line breaks<\/p>\n

Passes, dribbles, or carries that cut through an opponent\u2019s defensive lines, bypassing \u2014 or breaking \u2014 one or more layers of their defense in a single move.<\/p>\n

The graphic below shows a play in the Argentina-Algeria match that helps explain line breaks and between the lines. Argentina midfielder Rodrigo de Paul (identified by the white circle with a black star in the middle) makes a pass that eludes, or \u201cbreaks,\u201d two lines of Algeria\u2019s players and finds forward Lionel Messi. This play led to a Messi goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The graphic above shows a play in the Argentina-Algeria match that helps explain line breaks and between the lines. Courtesy of NetSI Sport<\/p>\n

Low block? Final third? Here\u2019s what these and other soccer terms mean\"\"\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Final third<\/p>\n

The attacking zone closest to the opponent\u2019s goal, where teams on offense transition from building play to creating and finishing chances of scoring a goal.<\/p>\n

The graphics below show Canada\u2019s offense moving from outside to inside the final third in its group-stage matches. The final third is the top section of the graphics, between the goal and the black horizontal line. At left, passes into the final third; at right, dribbles and carries into the final third.<\/p>\n

\"\"The graphics above show Canada\u2019s offense moving from outside to inside the final third in its group-stage matches. Courtesy of NetSI Sport<\/p>\n

Low block? Final third? Here\u2019s what these and other soccer terms mean\"\"\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Data analysis provided by Brennan Klein, director for Northeastern University\u2019s NetSI Sport research group.<\/p>\n

Greg St. Martin is a news reporter at Northeastern Global News. Email him at g.stmartin@northeastern.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 World Cup is captivating audiences across the globe, drawing in lifelong fans and newcomers alike. For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105,101640,6866],"class_list":["post-530044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports","tag-world-cup-2026","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}