A little bit of what in him? World Cup pundit's description of Andrea Pirlo gets so very lost in translation

Irish colloquialism stuns American co-host

Superbly-named ESPN commentator JP Delacamera was left baffled during Italy's World Cup match with Costa Rica, when Irish pundit Tommy Smyth suggested Andrea Pirlo "didn't have that little bit of jizz in him".

Smyth could have opted for the slightly less ambiguous "spunk" when referring to Pirlo's motivation during the game, but his peculiar choice of Irish colloquialism made for an awkward moment during the pair's radio commentary.

"He didn't have that little bit of jizz in him," Smyth remarked.

"A little bit of what?" a stunned Dellacamera asked.

"Jizz," the Irishman replied resolutely.

"Oh. Okay."

A few minutes later, having probably seen the mirth his comment was causing, Smyth explained exactly what he meant.

"Just in case you were wondering, in Ireland jizz means you have no step in ye, ye have no little bit of get up and go," he said.

"Yeah, I knew that," Dellacamera lied.

"Well it seems to have confused a lot of people, I just wanted them to know."

After a moment's pause, the ESPN host conceded: "I had no idea."

Despite his claims, numerous commenters on a YouTube clip of the commentary claiming to be Irish said they'd never heard of the slang being used for anything other than a sexual meaning.