The Beautiful Game: How to follow World Cup Soccer

While most of my posts are going to be about controversial topics and things I feel a need to rant about, this one is going to be something a bit different. Soccer as a whole is really seen as a kind of niche sport, but there are enough things going on that I feel it prudent to give people at least a primer so they can try to follow, despite not knowing anything about the game.


Regardless, here is a simple-to-follow breakdown.


The 2010 FIFA World Cup is being held in South Africa, with ten stadiums across the country holding the events. Contrary to popular belief, the country is not necessarily infested with killer African bees, the constant buzzing sound in the background comes from "vuvuzelas", plastic horns given to all the fans; they were intended to only be used after a goal. Obviously the fans have had other ideas.

Thirty-two nation's teams qualified for the cup through various tournaments. (South Africa, being the host nation, was given an automatic bid) In March, the teams were randomly put into eight groups of four teams, imaginatively named Groups A thru H. These groups determined who would play who in the preliminary stage of the tournament, called the "group stage".



The group stage started June 11, with each group being played in a round-robin format; each team plays each other team in their group. America was in Group C, along with England, Slovenia, and Algeria, and would face them each in that order.



As for the game, it's fairly simple. Two halves are played, 45 minutes each. The clock doesn't stop for anything; including goals, injuries, substitutions, or penalties. To compensate; at the end of each half, the referee adds time to the game corresponding to the time "lost" by stoppages of play, known simply as "stoppage time". The scoring is fairly obvious, as is how you win the game: score more goals than the other side. Draws are possible in the group stage. (and relatively common, as soccer is a low-scoring affair)


After each match, points are awarded. Winning a game gives your side 3 points, a draw gives each side 1 point, and a loss gets you 0 points. Out of each group, the top two teams advance in the tournament, as determined by their results during the three group games. If there is a tie between two or more teams, the first tiebreaker is the "goal differential", or the difference between how many goals you scored and how many you allowed. The second tiebreaker is how many goals you scored, and if two teams are still tied, they draw lots to determine placement.

After the field is cut in half, the remaining sixteen teams advance to the "knockout stage", a single elimination bracket until one team stands alone. The groups are somewhat mixed for this bracket; the winner of Group A faces the runner-up of Group B, the winner of group B plays the runner-up of group A, and the kind of pairing continues down the line. Obviously draws are not allowed in a single-elimination format, so the rules are slightly modified. If the score is tied after 90 minutes, plus stoppage time, the teams play a 15-minute overtime period. However unlike hockey or American Football, the overtime isn't sudden death (or "golden goal" as it's referred to) and the full quarter-hour is played even if a goal is scored fifteen seconds in. If the match is tied after one overtime, a second is played using the same rules. After that overtime, amounting to 120 minutes of play, plus stoppage time, the game moves to a penalty-kick shootout, winner takes all.

In case anyone reading this has also been living under a rock the past two weeks, the United States has advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament with a fantastic late goal to not only advance, but win the group. They face Ghana, the runner-up of group D. The game is at 2 PM on Saturday; so I know where I'll be!