World Cup 2026: Reacting to a close call
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Key Phrases
Per poco non segnavano!
They almost scored!
Il portiere ci ha salvati.
The goalkeeper saved us.
Che sollievo!
What a relief!
Skills You'll Learn
React to tense moments in a football match
Reagire ai momenti di tensione in una partita di calcio
Describe fear, relief, and excitement
Descrivere paura, sollievo ed eccitazione
Cheer on a team and encourage unity
Tifare per una squadra e incoraggiare l’unità
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you’re in the stands during a tense football match in Italy, reacting with a friend after the other team almost scores and cheering your team on together.
Hai visto? Per poco non segnavano!
Did you see that? They almost scored!
Sì, che spavento! Il portiere ci ha salvati.
Yes, what a scare! The goalkeeper saved us.
Mamma mia, il mio cuore va forte.
Oh my goodness, my heart is racing.
Anche il mio. È stata un'azione davvero vicina.
Mine too. That was a really close play.
Pensavo fosse gol, davvero.
I thought it was a goal, really.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Hai
eye
Have you / Did you
Visto?
VEE-stoh
Seen?
Hai visto?
eye VEE-stoh
Did you see?
Per poco
pehr POH-koh
By a little; almost
💬 [Per poco] means [almost] only in patterns like [per poco + non + verb]: [Per poco non cadevo] = [I almost fell]. It looks negative because of [non], but the whole idea is that something nearly happened.
See breakdown →Non segnavano
nohn sen-YAH-vah-noh
They didn't score / they were about to score
💬 After [per poco], Italian often uses [non] even when English would not: [Per poco non segnavano!] means [They almost scored!], not [They didn't score]. You'll see the same pattern in [Per poco non cadevo] — [I almost fell].
See breakdown →Per poco non segnavano!
pehr POH-koh nohn sen-YAH-vah-noh
They almost scored!
💬 Italian often says [per poco non + verb] for [almost did something]. So [Per poco non segnavano!] literally has [non], but the meaning is still [They almost scored!].
See breakdown →Sì
see
Yes
Che
keh
What a
💬 [Che] before a noun can mean [what a ...!] in exclamations: [Che spavento!], [Che sollievo!]. It's a very reusable pattern for reacting strongly to something.
See breakdown →Spavento
spah-VEN-toh
Scare
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