This morning I woke up early to watch a soccer game, Manchester United vs. Middlesbrough. It was an elimination game in the FA Cup. Manchester United is a top division team, and Middlesbrough is a second division team.
The game had twists and turns, and a bit of controversy when a Middlesbrough goal was allowed despite a handball.
Manchester United dominated the game, completing almost 600 more passes than Middlesbrough. They also had twenty more shots. The game was lost due to controversy, and missed opportunities.
Early in the game Ronaldo, one of the game's biggest stars missed a penalty kick. The shot missed just left of the goal.
Regulation ended in a 1-1 draw. Overtime was scoreless. And the shootout went to 8 kicks, with United failing to match Middlesbrough when young Anthony Elanga's kick went high of the goal.
Growing up in the USA in the 1980s and 1990s, I was never really interested in soccer. But living in Japan has opened my eyes to the sport. Now it is one of my favorite sports.
I follow Manchester United because I saw them play a game against Seattle Sounders FC several years ago. These days they are not very good.
I enjoy the international flavor of soccer. Not only is each team made up of players from around the world, but many countries have good quality, competitive soccer games.
Furthermore, I enjoy the competitions. Most leagues have a league championship, a nation-wide cup tournament, and the top teams can often participate in intercontinental, and even worldwide competitions, such as the Champions League.
The World Cup will take place later in the year. Now I enjoy the World Cup more because I follow international soccer. I will enjoy seeing pro players that I recognize competing against teammates for their countries’ glory.
These days, I watch soccer on DAZN. DAZN is a streaming app that shows live and archived broadcasts of many different sports. It is a great value for sports fans living in Japan, unfortunately, it doesn’t cover as many sports in other countries.
English learning points:
"twists and turns" - this means that surprising things happened in the game.
"International flavor" - 国際色とか国際的の意味です。
"opened my eyes to________." I have become interested in_________ " or "I think differently about _______"
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