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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Positions & Players

Substitute

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

/ˈsʌbstɪtuːt/nounCore term

In football (soccer), substitute means: A player who starts the match on the bench and can come on to replace a teammate during the game.

In Turkish: yedek oyuncu, oyuna sonradan giren oyuncu

How it is used

Shortened to sub in everyday speech. A substitute comes on for a player who goes off. Commentators praise a substitute who makes an impact, and a super-sub is a player known for scoring after coming off the bench.

Example sentences

  1. The substitute scored with his first touch.

  2. We have nine substitutes on the bench today.

Common collocations

  • come on as a substitute
  • unused substitute
  • substitute goalkeeper
  • late substitute
  • substitutionReplacing a player on the pitch with a substitute; the number allowed depends on the competition, and a player who comes off cannot return.
  • benchThe seats beside the pitch for the substitutes and coaching staff; also the group of substitutes available in a match.
  • squadAll the players available to a team for a season or a competition, from whom the starting eleven and the substitutes are chosen.
  • line-upThe list of players a team starts a match with, usually including their positions, published about an hour before kick-off.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Positions & Players

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