Describing football World Cup teams and countries games

Choose one of the countries in the World Cup in the list that your teacher gives you, and give hints until your partner guesses which country/ team you are describing. They can only guess once per hint. When they have guessed correctly, take turns doing the same with other teams/ countries from the list (or you can explain the same country again later if you can think of different hints). Your teacher will tell you if, when and how you can use the suggested hints on the next page to help.

When your teacher stops you, ask about any hints on the next page below which you are not sure how to use, working together as a class to use them to describe one of the countries/ teams each time.

Write the past and past participle of each of these verbs, then check as a class:

• play
• call
• associate
• be/ is/ are
• have
• win
• reach
• draw against
• lose against

Write predictions language in order in the gaps given below, with the most likely top and ones with the same meaning next to each other. Then check as a class.

will definitely

may

won’t

Ask about any countries on the list you know little about, working together to describe them each time.

Change groups and:

• play the same game with no help, or
• choose a country and take turns brainstorming facts about that country and/ or team

Suggested descriptions of World Cup countries/ teams

• … is a goalkeeper/ defender/ midfielder/ winger/ striker/… for this team.
• … is the most popular sport in this country.
• … is/ are from this country.
• … plays for this team./ A player for this team is…/ … used to play for this team.
• 2026 is this team’s first World Cup.
• A common name in this country is…
• People from this country are called…
• Some players in this team have families who…
• The colour… is associated with this team/ with this country.
• The head of this country is…
• The most famous… in this country/ from this country is…
• The sporting goods company… is from this country.
• The team… is from this country./ I support the team… from this country. 
• The top league in this country is called…
• The World Cup has been in this country./ The World Cup was in this country in…
• They also play… in this country./ They are also good at… in this country.
• They speak… in this country./ The official language in this country is…
• This country had a war…
• This country has a royal family.
• This country has never won…
• This country has won the World Cup (… times).
• This country is a host country in 2026./ This country was a host country in…
• This country is also called…
• This country is an island/ part of an island/ a peninsula/ part of a peninsula.
• This country is in (North/ Northeast/ East/ Southeast/ South/ Southwest/ West/ Northwest/ Central) Asia/ Africa/ Oceania/ America/ Europe/ Middle East.
• This country is near/ next to…
• This country is tiny/ small/ fairly small/ medium-sized/ fairly big/ big/ huge.
• This country is… hours by plane from…
• This country used to be…
• This country’s flag…
• This country’s national anthem…
• This country’s time zone is… hours ahead of…/ … hours behind…
• This team are rivals with…
• This team have won…/ This team won… in the year…
• This team played a warmup match against/ played a friendly against… (and…)
• This team played in the… World Cup. 
• This team reached… in the… World Cup.
• This team will probably/ may well/ might/ probably won’t/ almost certainly won’t/ definitely won’t win this World Cup.
• This team will probably/ may well/ might/ probably won’t/ almost certainly won’t/ definitely won’t reach the knockout stages of/ reach the quarterfinals of/ the semifinals of/ reach the final of this World Cup.
• This team won against/ drew with/ lost against…
• This team’s coach/ manager is/ was/ used to be…
• This team’s kit…
• This team’s most famous player is…
• This team’s supporters…

Countries in the 2026 World Cup A to Z

1. Algeria
2. Argentina
3. Australia
4. Austria
5. Belgium
6. Bosnia and Herzegovina
7. Brazil
8. Canada
9. Cabo Verde/ Cape Verde
10. Colombia
11. Congo DR/ The Democratic Republic of Congo
12. Croatia
13. Curaçao
14. Czechia/ The Czech Republic
15. Ecuador
16. Egypt
17. England
18. France
19. Germany
20. Ghana
21. Haiti
22. Iran/ The Islamic Republic of Iran
23. Iraq
24. Ivory Coast/ Côte d’Ivoire
25. Japan
26. Jordan
27. Mexico
28. Morocco
29. The Netherlands
30. New Zealand
31. Norway
32. Panama
33. Paraguay
34. Portugal
35. Qatar
36. Saudi Arabia
37. Scotland
38. Senegal
39. South Africa
40. South Korea/ The Republic of Korea/ ROK
41. Spain
42. Sweden
43. Switzerland
44. Tunisia
45. Türkiye/ Turkey
46. The United States/ The USA
47. Uruguay
48. Uzbekistan

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Related pages

Countries and nationalities page 

Sports page