The World Cup Mystery

A. Who is the man in the photo?


B.

The referee who was in charge of England’s friendly against the Platinum Stars
two days ago criticised Wayne Rooney for swearing during the game.
This short writing exercise is about trying to think of polite things to say on
the football field, rather than resorting to rude words.

For example, if you were playing football or another sport and an opposition player pushed you
over, you could say ‘Please don’t push me over. It’s against the rules of the
game and you might get sent off.’

Here are eight scenarios for you to respond to politely. Perhaps your teacher
could award prizes for the best responses. So try and be funny. Or try to say
something that no-one else will have suggested.
Here goes. What would you say if...

1. one of the opposition’s defenders pulls your shirt just before you try to head the
ball into the goal from a corner

2. you are about to take a penalty to win the game and one of the other team’s
players runs up to you and tells you that you are going to miss

3. a fan of the other teams shouts something at you from the stands, saying you
play football like a donkey

4. your manager substitutes you and you feel really angry and want to carry on
playing

5. you foul an opposition player and he stands up and pushes you

6. a spaceship lands on the pitch during the warm up and ruins the pitch, meaning
the game has to be abandoned

7. you are the last to leave the dressing rooms after half time and you get locked in




C.
The World Cup starts today – so it’s time to make your predictions.
All you need to do for this exercise is to write very five clear sentences. But, first, you
need to think – and maybe do a bit of research.

If you have time to look at today’s websites, that could help you make your choices.
Once you have done your research, make five World Cup predictions. It is important
to be clear, so write out your predictions clearly, like
‘North Korea will win the World Cup, beating Honduras in the final on 11 July.’
not
‘Korea will win’
Sometimes it is really important to be so clear that no one can misinterpret what you
are writing.

Once you have written your predictions, give them to your teacher to look after.
Maybe have a display of them on the wall. Or, turn it into a game and award yourself
a point for each one you get right. Give the winner in your class a prize.
Here are some topics for you to choose from:

• top scorer
• first team eliminated
• winners of trophy
• how far England (or any other team/your team) will progress
• first England player to be sent off
• team conceding most goals
• team that will score no goals
• how many times Thierry Henry will handle the ball