So, Day 6 of the 2022 World Cup and Wales lose 2-0 to Iran. We look at some language describing the result, including the phrase ‘first hurdle‘. You can read the transcript for this podcast below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions then you can contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.   2022 World Cup Language Podcast Day 6: The First Hurdle – Wales v Iran DB: Hello again everyone and welcome to Languagecaster.com – the football-language podcast for learners and teachers of English. I’m Damon and I am based in Tokyo. Damian the other half of the team is in London and we are both enjoying the action in the 2022 World Cup. We’ve been talking about some of the language used to talk about the action and matches in Qatar each day, and today we focus on the Wales versus Iran clash, which saw Iran run-out 2-0 winners. We will be looking at a description of this result from the BBC. Make sure you check out our previous World Cup 2022 football phrases, including scissor kick, a game of two halves and thumping strike. Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from Wales) Day 6: First Hurdle – Wales v Iran DB: Yes, you are listening to languagecaster and that was in Welsh. Right, the description of the Wales vs Iran group game we are looking at says: Wales’ first World Cup for 64 years looks set to end at the first hurdle after a gut-wrenching – but deserved – last-ditch defeat by Iran in Qatar. (BBC.co.uk: November 25 2022) Let’s start with the word ‘hurdle‘: ‘looks set to end at the first hurdle’. A hurdle is an obstacle or a problem, something you have to work to get past or solve. And in the World Cup, like other tournaments, there are different stages. The first problem for teams is to get out of the group, to progress to the last 16. The group stage is a hurdle. If you get past this, you go on to the knock out rounds. Of course, then there is another hurdle – the last 16 match! So, the report says Wales’ chances in the World Cup look set to end at the first hurdle; They suggest that Wales’ loss to Iran means that their World Cup is at an end. ‘Looks set to‘ means, will probably happen. The report also uses ‘gut-wrenching defeat‘. Your gut is your stomach and when something really bad happens we all feel our stomach turn, feel strange – it is wrenched, which means pulled violently. A gut-wrenching defeat is a really disappointing loss that makes the fans and players feel really bad. The last phrase we will focus on in this description is last ditch. Something ‘last-ditch’ is a final act, a final desperate action. Iran scored in time added on, meaning it was just before the end of the game. This made the defeat gut-wrenching, as there was no way for Wales to respond. A draw would have meant they could still pass the first hurdle. They still can of course, but they will need to beat England in their last game. Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from Ghana) Contact Yes,