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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Competitions & Results

Games in hand

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

phraseCommon term

In football (soccer), games in hand means: Matches a team has yet to play compared with rivals who have already played more fixtures.

In Turkish: eksik maçlar

How it is used

Use have two games in hand; these are opportunities for points, not points already won.

Example sentences

  1. We are four points behind but have two games in hand.

    The table comparison must account for unequal numbers of matches.

  2. They lost both games in hand and failed to close the gap.

    Unplayed fixtures do not guarantee future points.

Common collocations

  • have games in hand
  • two games in hand
  • win a game in hand
  • tableThe list that ranks the teams in a league by points, with goal difference and other figures; also called the league table or standings.
  • fixtureA match arranged for a particular date; the fixtures, or the fixture list, are all the matches a team or league has scheduled for the season.

More terms: Competitions & Results

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