World Cup 2026: Reacting to a close call
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Key Phrases
War das nicht fast ein Tor?
Wasn't that almost a goal?
Ja, ganz knapp daneben!
Yes, it just barely missed!
Ich dachte, der Ball ist drin.
I thought the ball was in.
Skills You'll Learn
Talking about a near goal in a football match
Über ein Beinahe-Tor im Fußball sprechen
Reacting emotionally to exciting moments
Emotional auf spannende Momente reagieren
Describing what happened and why it failed
Beschreiben, was passiert ist und warum es nicht geklappt hat
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you're watching a tense football match with a friend in Germany. A shot nearly goes in, your hearts race, and you react together to the excitement of the game.
War das nicht fast ein Tor?
Wasn't that almost a goal?
Ja, ganz knapp daneben!
Yes, just barely missed!
Oh Mann, mein Herz schlägt schnell.
Oh man, my heart is beating fast.
Meins auch. Das war wirklich knapp.
Mine too. That was really close.
Ich dachte, der Ball ist drin.
I thought the ball was in.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Fast
fahst
Almost
Ein Tor
ine tohr
A goal
🇩🇪 In football, [ein Tor] means a scored goal, not the goal frame. For the posts or crossbar, Germans say things like [der Pfosten] or [die Latte].
See breakdown →Fast ein Tor
fahst ine tohr
Almost a goal
War das nicht
vahr dahs nikht
Wasn't that
💬 German often uses [nicht] in questions like this to check or invite agreement: [War das nicht ...?] = "Wasn't that ...?" You can reuse it with other reactions, like [War das nicht Abseits?]
See breakdown →War das nicht fast ein Tor?
vahr dahs nikht fahst ine tohr
Wasn't that almost a goal?
💬 Questions with [war] put the verb first: [War das ...?] Adding [nicht] makes it sound like "wasn't that ...?", often when you expect the other person to agree.
See breakdown →Ganz knapp
gahnts knahp
Very narrowly
Daneben
dah-NAY-ben
Off target / next to it
💬 [daneben] often means more than physical "next to it." In sports, [knapp daneben] means a shot narrowly missed the target.
See breakdown →Ganz knapp daneben
gahnts knahp dah-NAY-ben
Just barely missed
💬 [ganz] often works like "really" or "completely" in everyday speech, not just "whole." So [ganz knapp] means "really close" or "very narrowly."
See breakdown →Ja
yah
Yes
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