Hello and welcome to the Premier Skills English podcast. This series of Football English podcasts are based around the needs of football players and football fans and will present language you need to play the game, language you need to watch the game on TV and online and language you need to travel to the UK to see a match at a Premier League stadium.  

Today, I am focusing on English for players and want to talk about some more advanced football English that you can use to talk about tactics. The focus of today’  s podcast is high press. The language I use and talk about will be useful for players who want to understand tactical terminology and who want to be able to read and discuss match reports.

When I was preparing for this podcast, I spent some time looking through the talking tactics pages on PremierLeague.com, and ... well, the language is not too complicated, but there are lots of advanced phrases and specialist football uses that might make the texts a bit of a challenge.

As well as the talking tactics pages on the Premier League website, I had a look at match reports and some coaching blogs and I made a list of five approaches to tactics. I’ve already published podcasts on Total football, Tiki-Taka and counter attacking and I have two more approaches to tactics.

• High press

  And 

• Fluid formations

Today, I’m going to talk about high press and I’ll talk about fluid formations in the future.

High Press

High Press is a proactive defensive tactic that involves applying intense pressure high up the pitch to disrupt the opponent’s build-up play and regain possession as close to their goal as possible. Rather than dropping back, teams using this approach push their defensive and midfield lines forward, aiming to win the ball in advanced areas and turn defensive actions into attacking opportunities in seconds.

To execute a high press effectively, players must be extremely fit, tactically disciplined, and capable of reading the game quickly. The tactic requires coordinated movement from the whole team, with attackers leading the press and teammates cutting off passing lanes to force mistakes. It relies on quick transitions, high work rate, and collective effort, often demanding that players maintain high levels of intensity throughout the match. As a result, physical conditioning and squad rotation are vital to sustaining this approach over the course of a season.

The challenging language from this description is: 

• Build-up play
• To execute
• Reading the game
• Passing lanes
• Physical conditioning
• Squad rotation

Build-up play

Build-up play is how a team works the ball from the back – usually from the defenders – up the pitch into attacking areas. It’s often done through a series of passes and clever movements as teams change shape to slowly move forward and find space. Teams that focus on build-up play usually try to control the game, rather than rushing forward quickly.

To execute

To execute in football means to carry out a plan or action successfully. You can execute a pass, a shot, or even a tactic. If a player executes a pass perfectly, it means they played it just how they intended. You might hear phrases like “they failed to execute the game plan” or “that was executed to perfection”. Outside of football and plans, the verb execute can mean to carry out a death sentence. So in some countries, people are executed if they are found guilty of the worst crimes.

Reading the game

Reading the game is about being able to understand what’s happening – and what’s about to happen – on the pitch. A player who reads the game, can look at the position of players and the movement of players and the ball and can understand what’s happening and where there are gaps in defence or opportunities to attack. They can intercept passes, anticipate runs, and make good decisions. This is a really valuable skill; it’s not always about speed or strength – it’s about awareness and football intelligence. You often see this in experienced defenders and midfielders who are always in the right place.

Passing lanes

Passing lanes are the invisible lines between two players that the ball can travel through. Defenders try to block passing lanes, while attackers try to open them up. If a player moves into space and creates a passing lane, it gives their teammate a clear option to play the ball. It’s a big part of how teams build attacks and keep possession.

Physical conditioning

Physical conditioning refers to a player’s fitness – how well their body can handle the demands of football. It includes stamina, strength, speed, and recovery. A well-conditioned player can keep running, pressing, and performing well even late in the game. It’s why teams have fitness coaches and why players train so hard outside of matches.

Squad rotation

Squad rotation is when a manager changes the starting line-up from one game to the next, often to rest key players or give others a chance. This is especially important when a team has lots of matches in a short time. Rotating the squad keeps players fresh and helps avoid injuries. Some teams rely heavily on rotation, while others stick to a core group of players.

OK. To talk about High press, I have used and described:

• Build-up play
• To execute
• Reading the game
• Passing lanes
• Physical conditioning
• Squad rotation

Listen to the description of high press again to hear this language in a football English context.

High Press

High Press is a proactive defensive tactic that involves applying intense pressure high up the pitch to disrupt the opponent’s build-up play and regain possession as close to their goal as possible. Rather than dropping back, teams using this approach push their defensive and midfield lines forward, aiming to win the ball in advanced areas and turn defensive actions into attacking opportunities in seconds.

To execute a high press effectively, players must be extremely fit, tactically disciplined, and capable of reading the game quickly. The tactic requires coordinated movement from the whole team, with attackers leading the press and teammates cutting off passing lanes to force mistakes. It relies on quick transitions, high work rate, and collective effort, often demanding that players maintain high levels of intensity throughout the match. As a result, physical conditioning and squad rotation are vital to sustaining this approach over the course of a season.

Language challenge

Now it’s time for you to think about some of this language again. I have come up with six sentences that use language from today’s podcast. I’m going to read you these sentences but I’m not going to say the language from the podcast so I want you to try to fill in the gaps with the words and phrases that I’ve been talking about.

Number 1. Top midfielders always _______________ and position themselves early.

Number 2. Good _______________ helps you last the full 90 minutes.

Number 3. The defenders closed all the _______________, so we had no options.

Number 4. The coach wants us to focus on _______________ from the back instead of long balls.

Number 5. _______________ is important to avoid injuries during a long season.

Number 6. He _______________ the free kick perfectly and scored from 25 yards.

There is an interactive activity on the page for this podcast on the Premier League British Council website that you can use to check to see if you’ve got the right answers.

Football phrase

Today’s football phrase is taken from an article on the Premier League website about the action from last weekend. It was Jamie Vardy’s 500th and final game for the foxes. Jamie Vardy’s career has played out in fairytale fashion so there was only one way for him to ***** *** ******* **** on his time at Leicester City and that was for him to score his 200th goal for the club. 

So the football phrase is a common metaphor ... quite a common metaphor that comes from the theatre that means to end something in a spectacular way.

If you think you know what the football phrase is, leave it in a comment on the page for this podcast on the Premier League British Council website and I’ll let you know if you’re right.

And that’s all I have time for today. Before I finish, I just wanted to say that I hope you found this podcast useful, and I hope everyone stays fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.