A beginner's guide to football and the World Cup 2026

Football, called soccer in some countries, is a game between two teams trying to score by getting the ball into the other team's goal. It is simple enough to watch casually, but a few rules make it much easier to understand what is happening.

The basics of a match

Each team normally has 11 players on the pitch, including one goalkeeper. A standard match lasts 90 minutes, split into two halves of 45 minutes. The referee adds stoppage time at the end of each half for injuries, substitutions, delays, and other interruptions.

A goal counts when the whole ball crosses the whole goal line between the posts and under the crossbar. The team with more goals at the end wins. In league or group-stage matches, a draw can stay as a draw.

Common rules you will see

• Throw-in: if the ball goes out over the side line, the other team throws it back in with both hands from behind the head.
• Corner: if the defending team touches the ball last before it crosses their own goal line without a goal, the attacking team takes a kick from the corner.
• Goal kick: if the attacking team touches the ball last before it crosses the goal line without a goal, the defending team restarts from near their goal.
• Foul: unfair contact, dangerous play, handball, or stopping an opponent illegally can give the other team a free kick.
• Yellow card: a warning for a serious or repeated offence. Two yellow cards to the same player become a red card.
• Red card: the player is sent off and their team usually plays with one fewer player.
• Penalty: if a defender commits certain fouls inside their own penalty area, the attacking team gets a close-range shot from the penalty spot.
• Offside: an attacker can be penalised if they are too close to the opponent's goal when a teammate plays the ball to them, unless enough defenders are between them and the goal. It exists to stop players simply waiting beside the goalkeeper.

Extra time and penalty shootouts

In knockout matches, someone has to go through. If the game is level after 90 minutes, it can go to extra time: two more periods of 15 minutes. If it is still level after extra time, a penalty shootout decides the winner.

In a shootout, teams take turns shooting penalties. The exact number can extend if the teams are still tied after the first set.

What the FIFA World Cup is

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest international football tournament. National teams qualify through regional competitions, then meet in the final tournament to decide the world champion.

The 2026 World Cup is hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. FIFA's current tournament information describes it as a 48-team competition with 104 fixtures.

How the 2026 World Cup works

The expanded 2026 format uses 12 groups of four teams. In the group stage, teams play the other teams in their group and earn points: three for a win, one for a draw, none for a loss.

After the groups, the tournament moves into knockout rounds. The top teams progress into a 32-team knockout phase, where each match sends one team through and one team home. The bracket continues until the final.

Qualification is the process that decides which national teams reach the tournament. The host nations qualify automatically, and the remaining places are earned through regional qualifying routes. For official fixtures, groups, and team updates, use FIFA's World Cup 2026 page.

What groups and knockouts mean

A group is a small table inside the tournament. It gives every team several matches, so one bad result does not always end the tournament.

A knockout round is harsher. Win and continue. Lose and you are out. That is why knockout games often feel more tense than group games.

Running a World Cup sweepstake

A sweepstake is a simple draw where participants are randomly assigned teams. If your assigned team does well, you follow the fun without needing to understand every tactical detail.

Spinly's World Cup Sweepstake Generator lets you paste participant names, load or edit a team list, and generate fair assignments. You can copy the results, download a CSV, or print the table.

If you already have numbered entrants or tickets, Spinly's Random Number Generator can also pick random numbers from a range. For casual office and friends sweepstakes, the sweepstake generator is usually the cleaner option.

A simple way to watch

Pick one team to follow, learn a few player names, and do not worry about understanding every whistle. Most of football makes sense once you know the goal, the clock, fouls, cards, offside, and the difference between group games and knockout games.