A guide to how qualifying, the group stage, the knockout bracket, and discipline rules work this time around
A glossary of the stats and vocabulary you’ll hear during soccer broadcasts
Everything you need to know about how soccer punishes rule-breakers and the people calling fouls
A casual fan’s guide to the basic rules of soccer, from handballs and offside to unfair challenges, substitutions, time wasting, dissent, technical areas, and offensive speech
The basics of gameplay, the clock, stoppage time, extra time, and penalty shootouts
Keepers, Defenders, midfielders, and forwards, plus the numbering system commentators use and how formations work
A beginner-friendly guide to the layout of soccer fields and the terms commentators use to talk about them
How a low-scoring game that can end in a tie has everyone on the edge of their seat