FIFA World Cup 101: Learn the history, rules and who you want to cheer for

Are you one of those people? And would you like to really get to know the sport, the tournament, and the teams and players you see on television? Then we at Flashscore have the ideal solution.

With our free-to-follow FIFA World Cup 101 course, you will know everything about everything about anything you want to know. By the end of our 10-step free-to-follow course, we guarantee you will sound like a true expert on the beautiful game. So, without further ado, here is Flashscore's FIFA World Cup 101 course.

FIFA World Cup 101

Step 1: Basic rules

To know everything about the World Cup, you'll need to know everything about the sport itself, right? So that's where we'll start, with a nice and easy tour through the football rulebook.

Game length

The easy part. A football game is 90 minutes long, divided into two 45-minute halves. Time can be added to a half to make up for stoppages, such as substitutions, injury treatment, or goals. A knockout game, one that does not take place in the group stage of the World Cup, can go to extra time if a game is tied after 90 minutes, meaning there will be another 30 minutes (2x15) played.

If the game is still a draw after 120 minutes, it goes to a penalty shootout, in which teams take penalties in turns. It starts in a best-of-5 format. If there's no winner, it goes into sudden death.

Goalkeepers

Two of those 22 players are there to stop this from happening: the goalkeepers. They stand in goal and are the only players who are allowed to touch the ball with their hands, but only within the large rectangle they stand in, called the penalty area. You can recognise them by their differently coloured shirts. Goalkeepers also cannot touch the ball when it's passed back to them by a teammate with their feet, while they can handle it when it's headed back.

Handball

Good to note: outfield players can commit handball with every part of their arm below the shoulders.

That last bit is only partially true, because you'll see players with the ball in their hands every game. If the ball rolls or flies over the white lines along the long sides of the pitch, the team that did not touch the ball last gets to throw the ball back in play.

If the ball goes out over the backlines, the team that did not touch the ball last gets to kick the ball in via a corner-kick, taken from, you guessed it, the flag in the corner of the pitch.

Step 2: Expert rules

Basic rules: check. Now time for expert rules, because in order to truly impress your friends, you'll need to know about the following rules.

Fouls and cards

Let's start with the fouls and cards. The referees are there to enforce the rules I'm currently explaining by blowing their whistles for fouls and issuing yellow and red cards. They can also choose not to blow their whistles and let play continue if the team of which a player was fouled still has the ball and is in the middle of a promising attack. They'll award the yellow card after play has stopped. A red card must be issued immediately.

A yellow card will be given after an accumulation of fouls, wasting time, purposely committing handball, pulling someone's shirt, unsportsmanlike conduct, and low-to-medium severity fouls. In short, nothing too severe or dangerous, but also depending on context.

A red card is given after a second yellow card, a serious foul, using violence, spitting at someone, or denying the opponent an immediate goalscoring opportunity through a foul. A serious foul can be a tackle in which the studs on the bottom of the shoe are planted on the opponent's leg or foot.

Referee and VAR

If a foul is given a yellow card but could be a red, the referee can receive a call from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

The VAR, a full-time referee who sits in a room with loads of screens and access to all camera angles, can check potential red cards or fouls in the lead-up to a goal. If the VAR thinks the referee got something wrong, they can call the referee to a television screen next to the pitch. There, the referee can review their own decision and, if necessary, change it. A VAR check is also always announced.

However, at the end of the day, everything is up for interpretation. It makes the referees decisive. Football players hate referees, fans hate referees, but without them, we wouldn't play these games. I'll tell you a little more about them later.

Free-kicks and penalties

Every foul is followed by a free-kick. There are two types of free-kicks: indirect, which are given after an offside infringement or fouls that take place away from the ball, and direct, which are given after careless, reckless, or excessive-force fouls. With an indirect free-kick, the ball has to be touched by another player before a goal can be scored, while a direct free-kick can just be shot on goal.

If a foul is made on the attacking team in the penalty area of the defensive team, a penalty is awarded. The attacking team will kick the ball from the penalty mark, with only the opposition's goalkeeper in the penalty area.

Step 3: Offside

Now that we've gone through those rules, let's get into a little more detail and start with an often-discussed football rule: offside.

Put simply, offside occurs when an attacking player is between the last defender and the goalkeeper when the ball is passed. The attacker can only be offside with limbs he can score with, so anything but his arms.

Take the picture below: imagine the ball is passed to the player in white, the attacker, at this exact moment. The player in white would be ruled offside because he's between the last defender and the goalkeeper.

Now, in the picture below, imagine the player in the white number 2 shirt gets passed the ball in this exact moment. He would not be ruled offside, because he's behind the player in the red number 24 shirt. The two players in white above him are offside: the closest player is fully beyond the last defender in red, and the white attacker up top is slightly beyond him, with his knee.

Pro tip: You'll see horizontal lines in the grass at the World Cup. Use those lines to determine how far from the nearest line the players are and who is or might be offside.

Now, a player can never be offside if they're behind the ball when it's passed to them. So a player could never stand offside during a corner-kick, for example.

You may wonder why we have offside in the first place, because it sounds like a stupidly complicated rule. However, it greatly benefits the game strategy and prevents teams from lingering in front of the goal throughout the game. Without offside, we'd just boot the ball to the other end and do the same the other way, and that for 90 minutes.

Step 4: The tournament

For the first time in its 96-year history, the FIFA World Cup, which takes place every four years, will feature 48 teams, up from the 32-team format introduced in 1998. The 48 teams that qualified for the tournament by winning their continental qualifying group, continental play-offs, or intercontinental play-offs have been drawn into 12 groups of 4 teams each.

During the draw, which took place in December in Washington, D.C., teams were drawn from four pre-determined pots. The three host nations and nine highest-ranked teams from the FIFA World Rankings were in Pot 1, the twelve highest-ranked teams below them in Pot 2 and the next twelve in Pot 3, and the six lowest-ranked teams, along with the six play-off teams, in Pot 4.

Each Pot 1 team was placed in a different World Cup group, just like all the teams from Pots 2 through 4. That means that the strongest nations in the world will face lower-ranked teams in the group stages. Take Group H, where European champions Spain (2nd in FIFA World Ranking) will play against Uruguay (16th) from Pot 2, Egypt (29th) from Pot 3, and Cape Verde (67th) from Pot 4.

The scoring is simple: the winner of the group-stage match gets three points, while a draw gets both teams one point. And the losers? Tissues to dry their tears.

The winners and second-placed teams of each of the twelve groups automatically qualify for the second round, which will feature 32 teams that'll play knockout games. Those 24 teams will be joined by the eight best third-placed teams from the group stage.

The 16 winners of the second-round games progress to the round of 16, the eight winners of the round of 16 go to the quarterfinals, the four winners of the quarterfinals go to the semifinals, and the two winners of the semifinals go to the final in New Jersey. The losers don't go home just yet, as they will play a third-place play-off.

It's a lot of information to take in, but not to worry: you can follow all the live scores, live standings, and knockout matchups in the Flashscore app and on the website.

Step 5: The history

The FIFA World Cup is steeped in history. It started in 1930 in Uruguay with only 13 teams instead of the originally planned 16, due to Japan and Thailand withdrawing and Egypt missing the ship to South America. The hosts won the first title and thus will Uruguay, who also won in 1950, forever be known as the first world champions of football.

Fast forward 96 years, and Canada, Mexico, and the United States are hosting the 23rd FIFA World Cup. In those 96 years, so much has happened.

Brazil have won the tournament a record five times, with Pelé, considered one of, if not the, greatest footballers of all time, leading the way. Italy, who didn't qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and Germany have both won four titles and are the most successful European countries. Reigning world champions Argentina have won three, with Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, two more players people consider the greatest of all time.

Over the tournament's 96-year history, we've seen the most iconic moments, goals, and games in football history. That's the magic of the World Cup. There have been far too many of those highlights to mention in this article, so here are three articles you can check out to catch some of the most historic moments in the tournament's rich history.

The most iconic FIFA World Cup moments of all time

The best goals in FIFA World Cup history

The greatest FIFA World Cup matches of all time

Step 6: The teams

In 2026, more teams are playing in the World Cup than ever before: a staggering 48 nations have qualified for the tournament. That's 16 more than the previous 32-team format, which was implemented in 1998.

The expansion means that there's a wider variety of competitors than ever. 10 African nations are present; Asia is represented by 8 nations; Europe has 16 teams in the tournament; 6 North American teams are qualified; 6 South American teams are present; and Oceania is represented by Australia and New Zealand.

By that count, Antarctica is the only continent that won't be represented. And they don't play football.

The favourites for the title are all previous winners: France, Spain, Argentina, and England are considered the prime candidates to win the tournament. France are looking to add a third title, Spain to win their second, Argentina are seeking a fourth, and England are trying to win their second title and end a 60-year wait.

Behind them, Portugal, Brazil, and Germany are looking like they could upset the four powerhouses. They might not be as strong as they once were, but all have the quality and reasons to go for gold this year.

Then you have some dark horses, strong nations that are unlikely to win but could go far in the tournament. In this category, you'll find Norway, Colombia, Morocco, and the Netherlands, who are intent on finally winning a first world title after losing the final three times, which makes them the nation with the most final appearances without ever winning the trophy.

Among the 48 nations are four that make their tournament debut: Jordan, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, and Curaçao, which is the smallest nation that has ever qualified for the World Cup with a population of about 150,000 people.

Find the full list of World Cup nations in our article HERE

Step 7: The players

If this is your first World Cup, you'll have the privilege of seeing some of the best players in football history play their last tournament. Argentina's Lionel Messi (38) and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (40) will likely bid football farewell very soon, and this World Cup will be their final hurrah on the big stage. For Messi, it could be a very special tournament, with the reigning world champion three goals away from tying the all-time World Cup goals record (16).

Along with them, Brazil's Neymar (34) will likely not go on much longer, as will Croatia legend Luka Modric (40). Other superstars who could play their last World Cup are Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne (34), South Korea's Son Heung-Min (33), Egypt's Mohamed Salah (33), the Netherlands' Virgil van Dijk (34), and Colombia's James Rodriguez (34).

The current generation of superstars also cannot wait to get started. France's Kylian Mbappé is only 27 but will play in his third World Cup and is looking to add another trophy to his already impressive career, which includes 12 goals and a 2018 title. Norway's Erling Haaland, who has amazingly scored 112 goals in 128 Premier League games, is making his World Cup debut in Norway's first since 1998. England's Harry Kane is the nation's biggest hope of winning a first trophy since 1966, and France's Ousmane Dembele, voted the best player in the world in 2025, hopes to follow up a Champions League win with more World Cup glory.

Stepping into their shoes will be some of the most exciting talents in world football. Think of Spain's Lamine Yamal (18), who's already one of the best players in the world, or Turkey's Arda Güler (21) and Kenan Yildiz (21), who inspired their team to their first World Cup since 2002?

There are stars everywhere, in every group and in every game. That's the beauty of the World Cup, too, with the strongest nations on earth fielding their best players before billions of fans and viewers.

Step 8: Who to cheer for

Who you cheer for is such a personal question. You could cheer for your mother- or fatherland, you could cheer for your neighbours, you could cheer for a certain player's nation, you could cheer for the nation with the coolest shirt, you could cheer for the nation with the most unique flag, you could cheer for the underdog, you could cheer for the favourites... I could keep going on and on and on and....

So, here are a few criteria you might choose your favoured team by:

Best team: France, Spain

France reached the last two World Cup finals and won in 2018, while Spain are the reigning European champions. They are also the two highest-ranked teams in the FIFA World rankings.

Cool team: Norway, Japan, Croatia

Norway have a good team with Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard, and are back at the World Cup after a 28-year wait. Japan, meanwhile, also have a strong team, but have never made the quarterfinals. Croatia were finalists in 2018 and won the bronze medal in 2022. They're a hipster choice, but their kits are cool, too.

Redemption team: Germany, Brazil, England, Netherlands

Germany are one of the most historic footballing nations, but failed miserably at the last two World Cups, where they were shockingly knocked out in the group stage. Brazil, meanwhile, are record champions, but celebrated their last world title in 2002. They are also still recovering from their 7-1 defeat in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup in, yes, Brazil.

England, as mentioned before, haven't won since 1966 and have wasted several 'golden generations' since. The Netherlands lost three finals in their history and are still waiting for their first title.

Underdog team: Senegal, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Turkey

Senegal are a unique story: the African giants won the African Cup of Nations, the most important competition on the continent, by beating hosts Morocco in a drama-filled final in January. However, Morocco were controversially handed the win by a court because Senegal protested a refereeing decision by walking off the pitch. It was dramatic, it was shocking, so Senegal are an underdog team to root for.

Bosnia & Herzegovina are making their second appearance, and qualifying sparked nationwide celebrations that went paired with a quite brilliant song. Turkey, meanwhile, finished third in 2002 but failed to qualify for the World Cup until this year. They're passionate and bold, and they have a fun team.

Cool fans: Scotland, all African teams

Scotland return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and are back with a bang. Their fans, who call themselves the 'Tartan Army', are always out in huge numbers and out to have fun. They're so cool, German fans and politicians thanked the 200,000 Scottish football fans for their warm and excellent support during the European Championships in 2024.

If you're looking for a more cultural and party-like atmosphere, look no further than any of the nine African teams. Ghana, D.R. Congo, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria... All fantastic.

Rags to Riches: Uzbekistan, Curaçao, Jordan, Cape Verde

What better to root for than a debutant? Uzbekistan made their first-ever World Cup and are led by Italian manager Fabio Cannavaro, who led Italy to World Cup glory as their captain in 2006. Curaçao are the smallest nation to ever appear at a World Cup and are led by the oldest manager in World Cup history, 78-year-old Dick Advocaat. Jordan overcame the odds and qualified, while Cape Verde are the third-least populous country in Africa. All of them would be excellent, exciting choices to support as they enter their maiden World Cup.

The true underdog

The worst of the two teams that are playing each other. Read Rule 5 of Step 9 to learn more about this.

The style gurus

Care about how good a team looks? Judging football shirts at the World Cup is a universally loved fan activity.

Want to see what all 48 teams look like this tournament, so you can pick your favourite? Check our article with all 100+ kits here. 

Still doubting?

No worries, we have you covered. Just take the test below!

Step 9: Life hacks to sounding like a full-time fan

Rule 1: NEVER agree with the referee

Whether they're ruling in your team's favour or against you, the referee is never right. Never.

Rule 2: VAR saves/ruins the game

The introduction of the Video Assistant Referee is either the greatest idea in football history or the worst, most corrupt thing in football. It all depends on whether it rules in favour of or against you, just like with the referees.

Rule 3: The opponents are lucky, your team are good

Nothing the opponents do is because they're good. They're always lucky. Not like your team, though. Absolutely not - they are great at what they do. Don't need any luck.

Rule 4: Nostalgia trip your football friends

When things (almost inevitably) do go wrong for your team at some point, and your friends support the same team, take them on a nostalgia trip. Here are a few examples:

"Brazil haven't been the same since Ronaldo retired."

"France are really missing a Zidane-type player."

"Spain really lack a deadly striker like Fernando Torres or David Villa."

"Remember 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo? Those were the times for Portugal, man."

"This Netherlands team is good, but if we had an Arjen Robben on the right..."

Replace the country and player names with the team you support and a good player from the past, and you're golden.

Rule 5: Always favour the underdog

Everybody loves an underdog. Those who say they don't are liars. If you're still torn or unsure about who to support, just support the little brother. Haiti, Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, New Zealand - all excellent underdogs to cheer on.

To find out who the underdog is, check the matchup in the Flashscore app or on the website and either look at the country's place in the FIFA World Rankings (found below the country flag and name) or check the betting odds below our housemade preview.

Step 10: How to follow the World Cup

The easiest step of them all. Don't want to miss a beat? Want to really sound like a football expert and catch up with all the latest news? You're already at the right address, because Flashscore is your one-stop shop for all things World Cup. Find the schedule, the latest news, the results, our previews, the standings, and an archive of all 22 previous World Cups in our app or on our website.

You can even follow the World Cup games live via our text commentary and audio commentary, which you can find on the match page, of each of the 104 games between June 11th and July 19th.