At the World Cup, teams first play in groups of four, and the team that scores more goals wins the match. If both teams have the same score, the match is a draw. In a group, a win earns three points, a draw one point and a loss none, and in 2026 the top two teams in each group, plus the eight best third-place teams, advance. After the groups come knockout games, and losing a knockout match means a team is out. Extra time, when used, is two equal periods of up to 15 minutes each, and if a knockout game is still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out picks the winner.

A referee runs each match and blows a whistle when a rule is broken, and a referee shows a yellow card as a caution to a player, and a player is cautioned for dissent by word or action. A player who gets a red card must leave the field, and a player who denies a goal by a deliberate handball is sent off. Except for the goalkeeper, players cannot touch the ball with their hands or arms during play, and a penalty kick is awarded for a direct free kick offence inside the penalty area, and the penalty mark is 11 m from the midpoint between the goalposts. A goal is 7.32 m wide inside the posts and 2.44 m high.

A player is in an offside position if closer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent, but being in an offside position is not an offence by itself. A video assistant referee can help only with a clear and obvious error or a serious missed incident. At the start of a match, the referee tosses a coin, and the winner picks a goal to attack or takes the kick-off, and when the ball crosses the side line, the other team gets a throw-in, and a goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in. A goal may be scored directly from a goal kick, but only against the other team. A corner kick is awarded when the ball crosses the goal line after last touching a defender and no goal is scored.

A Chinese kicking game called cuju was recorded in the Han dynasty. FIFA was founded in Paris on 21 May 1904. The Football Association was formed in London in 1863 and published the first rules, and the Laws of the Game have been in effect since 1863 and kept since 1886 by a rule-keeping group called the IFAB, and the first international match was played in Glasgow in 1872, Scotland against England. The first World Cup was played in 1930 in Uruguay, and Uruguay won by beating Argentina 4-2. The first World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was kept by Brazil after its third win in 1970. As of November 2026, Brazil has won the World Cup five times.

The 2026 World Cup opened on June 11, 2026, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and the World Cup grew to 48 teams in 2026, 16 more than in the previous seven tournaments, as of November 2026. Three countries hosted it: Canada, Mexico and the United States. It was played in 16 cities: 11 in the United States, 3 in Mexico and 2 in Canada. As of November 2026, Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan played their first World Cup in 2026. The 2026 group stage ran from June 11 to June 27, and the 2026 final was played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on July 19. As of November 2026 the tournament had 308 goals in 104 matches, about 2.96 goals per match, and in 2026 Spain won the World Cup.

Words to know

• dissent: back talk
• offside: ahead of defenders
• penalty: free shot
• assistant: helper