The Football World Cup

The World Cup for Dummies

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest event in international soccer and the most-watched sporting event in the world. Every four years, 32 teams from all over the world come to participate in this football championship. The players represent their home country on a giant field that’s more than 100 yards long with goals at either end.

The players score points by kicking or heading a large ball into the other team’s goal. There are two 45-minute halves, plus stoppages for injuries, fouls and substitutions. If there's no winner after 90 minutes of play, a tiebreaker game determines who advances to the next round.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the World Cup for beginners: how it started, when it takes place, why it matters and what you need to watch for during each game.

The History of the World Cup

The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay and featured just 13 teams. But it has since grown by leaps and bounds, now featuring 32 teams from around the world.

Over the next few years, the event was cancelled because of world wars. It wasn't until 1942 that a football tournament was held again, this time with 16 teams. The rest is history.

The Rules of the World Cup

The World Cup is an international soccer tournament that takes place every four years. The event features 32 teams from different parts of the world, where they compete to win their country's first World Cup Championship.

1st Round: Teams are split into eight groups of four and play each other in a round-robin tournament

Knockout Stage: Teams are paired off by rank according to points (tie-breakers go to goal differential and goals scored), with the top two teams playing each other for a spot in the finals

Final Match: The winner becomes world champions.

Group Stage

The first round of the World Cup is called the group stage. Teams are split into eight groups of four and play each other in a round-robin tournament. They will be ranked according to their points (three points for a win, one point for a draw). If two or more teams are tied in points, they will be ranked by goal differential and then goals scored. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage.

Knockout Stage

The Knockout Stage is the final stage of the Football World Cup. It begins with the completion of Round Two and lasts until only two teams remain. The eight remaining countries will be split into four groups where they will play each other in a round-robin tournament to determine their rankings.

The top two teams from each group will then play one another in a knockout match, with the winner moving on to the finals. The team that wins the finals game becomes world champions!

What's Happening Now?

The last World Cup final took place July 15th, 2018 in Russia. The two teams in the final were France and Croatia. France is defending champions from 1998. France won the game 4-2 to become the reigning champions.

France is was one of the favorites to win the tournament, they had won the most matches and conceded only one goal during the entire tourney. Croatia had played most of their games on their home turf which has helped them advance farther than any other team in Europe, but they were not able to beat France yet.

The key player for France was Antoine Griezmann who leads the team in goals and assists. He was also been named Player of the Tournament, so far. But it's not just about him; six different players from this team have scored goals throughout the tournament which shows that it's more than just one player carrying their weight for France.

Conclusion

The World Cup is the biggest soccer tournament in the world with 32 countries competing every four years to become the World Cup Champions. The World Cup can be a very exciting event to watch. You’ll see players from all over the world, interesting games and some of the most talented players in the world competing for glory. The best way to experience the World Cup is to watch it on your TV or just go to your nearest pub.