The World Cup is here.
FIFA is ready to present 104 matches over the next five weeks in the U.S., Mexico and Canada with several million fans expected to fill stadiums throughout the three countries.
Futbol, or soccer to many in America, is the most popular global sport with passions running high for matches from professional leagues to international play.
It doesn’t get any bigger than the World Cup every four years.
Mexico kicked off this year’s tournament Thursday with a 2-0 group-stage victory over South Africa with South Korea and Czechia squaring off later in the day.
The U.S. begins group play at 9 p.m. Friday against Paraguay in Los Angeles, while Canada will take on Bosnia and Herzegovia at 3 p.m. Friday in Toronto.
“What makes this extra special for so many is that it happens every four years,” said Raf Kolankowski, a Plum resident and Poland native who coaches the Plum boys varsity soccer team.
“You get to see the talent from all of the best countries all in one tournament. That is so much fun. There will be games every day. This is the international soccer version of college basketball March Madness. I look forward to this every year.”
Kolankowski said he hopes to make it to Philadelphia for one of the games or to just be in the World Cup atmosphere. He does wish his home country was in the tournament. Poland, however, lost out in European qualifying.
“There are a lot of people who I know are going to Philadelphia or some other city to watch a match or two,” said Kolankowski, who watched Poland compete in the 2022 World Cup and advance to the round of 16 before falling to France.
“There are a lot of local bars that are showing games. It is an exciting time, that’s for sure.”
Here is a closer look at what to expect with all of the World Cup action.
World Cup turns 23
The best soccer countries in the world have gathered to determine a champion since the first tournament in Uruguay in 1930.
There were celebrations in the capital of Montevideo and beyond that year as the hosts captured the inaugural title with a 4-2 win over Argentina.
The World Cup has been contested every four years since then with the exception of 1942 and 1946 when the tournament was canceled because of World War II.
Qatar hosted a 2022 World Cup tournament that saw Argentina defeat France with a reported 1.5 billion people watching worldwide.
The United States, with help from Canada and Mexico, is hosting for the second time (1994).
Popular in 1994
Nine U.S. host cities provided the settings for 52 World Cup matches in 1994 with an average attendance of 68,991 per match.
A total of 141 goals were scored among the 24 teams, and Brazil came away with the title. It defeated Italy in the championship at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Sweden took third, and Bulgaria finished fourth.
The U.S. team, featuring a lineup of notable names such as Tony Meola, Alexi Lalas, Marcelo Balboa and Cobi Jones, advanced to the knockout stage (round of 16) out of Group A after a win over Columbia, a draw against Switzerland, and a narrow loss to Romania.
Brazil beat the U.S. in the round of 16 en route to the title.
Wait, there’s more
The World Cup has expanded to 48 teams for this year’s tournament, up from the longstanding 32-team format that held from 1998-2022.
The move to 48 was driven by a goal of global development and inclusion of the sport and also the desire to generate additional revenue from broadcasts and sponsorships.
In all, there will be 12 groups with four teams in each group. Each team will play three group matches. Thirty-two teams, the top two from each group and the eight best third-place teams, will advance from group play.
Fans, both casual and the more dedicated, will get a chance to watch 104 matches over the month-long tournament.
Speaking of watching matches
The World Cup will be broadcast on FOX and FS1 in English and Telemundo and Universo in Spanish with streaming options on FOX One, Peacock, YouTube TV, DirecTV, Fubo and Tubi for select free matches.
FOX will have the championship match July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The hosts with the most
The U.S. will host the most World Cup matches with 11 cities — Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Houston, Kansas City, Boston and Philadelphia — joining in on the celebration.
MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, in the shadow of New York City, will host the July 19 final.
Toronto and Vancouver will host games as will Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico.
It is the first World Cup co-hosted by three countries, and the first time matches will be played in Canada.
Mexico becomes the first country to host three World Cups.
Can the U.S. make a run?
The Americans placed third overall among 13 teams in the inaugural 1930 World Cup, and they have been trying to get back to that level or better ever since.
They made the 2002 quarterfinals after a stunning 3-2 victory over Portugal.
The U.S. this year will try to get out of what is considered a strong Group D with its game Friday against Paraguay and matchups against Australia (3 p.m. June 19 in Seattle) and Turkey (10 p.m. June 25 in Los Angeles).
FIFA’s world rankings list the U.S. at No. 16. DraftKings has the U.S. as the 14th choice in the betting odds at plus-6,000, tied with Japan.
Repeat performance?
Argentina’s win over France in 2022 was its third World Cup title, adding to championship trophies captured in 1978 and 1986.
It will look to claim back-to-back titles this summer and is in Group J with Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
Algeria and Austria return to the World Cup stage after long absences, and Jordan is making its World Cup debut.
No team has won two World Cups in a row since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Lionel Messi, still one of the world’s most popular players and recognizable names at 38, will lead Argentina into World Cup play for the sixth time. He played in 26 World Cup matches from 2006-22 and owns 13 goals in those games.
The favorites
Argentina is just the sixth choice according to oddmakers at plus-1,000.
The favorite is Spain (plus-450), the 2024 European champion, followed closely by France (plus-475), the runner-up in the 2022 World Cup. England (plus-750), Portugal (plus-800) and Brazil (plus-950) round out the top five.
Bringing home the bacon
Eight nations have won the World Cup with Brazil leading the way with five (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002).
Germany and Italy are tied with four wins apiece.
Germany won in 1954, 1974 and 1990 as West Germany; and 2014 as unified Germany.
Italy’s titles came in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006.
Going streaking
Brazil extends its never-to-be broken record as the only country to have appeared in every World Cup since the start.
But a few others are riding impressive qualification streaks of their own.
Germany is making its 18th consecutive appearance, while Argentina (14), Spain (13) and the South Korea (11) are making the World Cup a regular occurrence.
Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, ending its run of consecutive appearance at 14.
South Korea, as a co-host with Japan, finished fourth in the 2002 World Cup with Lee Woon-jae leading the way at goalkeeper. It upset Spain and Italy in the knockout stages before losing to Germany, 1-0, in the semifinals.
Woon-jae also played on World Cup teams in 1994, 2006 and 2010.
He is the uncle of Sarah Mitchell, a Carnegie resident who has made a name for herself in the Pittsburgh volleyball circles as a member of the Pittsburgh Surge semi-pro team.
Winning at home
Since Uruguay won the first World Cup on home soil, five other countries have defended home turf and claimed the championship trophy.
Italy hosted and was triumphant in 1934, with England (1966), West Germany (1974), Argentina (1978) and France (1998) winning in front of energetic home crowds.
Germany in 2006 and Brazil in 2014 came close, but both lost in the champion final.
Ronaldo returns
While critics say he has lost a step at age 41, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo will nonetheless be in uniform for his country as the World Cup begins.
This is the international star’s sixth World Cup appearance. As a 21-year old, he helped Portugal make the 2006 semifinals in his World Cup debut.
He scored eight goals and added two assists over 22 matches in his previous five previous World Cups and is the only player to score at least one goal in five consecutive tournaments.
Players to watch
While Messi and Ronaldo are the most famous faces in the field, this World Cup will have no shortage of star power.
French striker Kylian Mbappe, 27, is generally considered to be the player taking the baton from Messi and Ronaldo as the world’s best. He had a hat trick in the 2022 final.
If Mbappe doesn’t pick up the baton, Spain’s Lamine Yamal surely will. He led his nation to the 2024 European title at the age of 17.
The top American player is Christian Pulisic, a 27-year-old Hershey native who has become an overseas star, now playing for AC Milan.
In case you are new to the sport, here’s a few keys to the game:
Let’s get this party re-started
When a ball is kicked or deflected completely out of bounds on either sideline during game play, a player for the possessing team initiates the resumption of play with what is called a throw-in.
The player, facing the field of play with part of each foot on or behind the touchline, holds the ball with both hands behind their head and releases the ball into play from above their head in a single motion.
It is the only time a player, other than a goalkeeper, may legally touch a ball with their hands during the course of a game.
Yes, you may enter
Teams in each World Cup match begin with 11 players on the field — a goalkeeper, attackers, midfielders and defenders.
Substitutions allow a team the ability to swap out a starter for a reserve for various reasons including strategy, injury or because of performance.
The substitute player cannot enter the field until the player being replaced has left and the referee has signaled for the substitution.
Each team is permitted a maximum of five substitutions during regulation time of a World Cup match and one sub in extra time. The exception to the five-sub limit is if a player is exciting the game because of a head injury.
A player who leaves the field cannot re-enter the match.
A substitution can only occur when play is stopped.
Offsides is a no-no
An official will blow the whistle when a player’s head, body or feet are in the opponent’s half, closer to the goal than both the ball and the second-to-last defender, usually including the goalkeeper, when the ball is played in and they become involved in active play.
Offsides is designed to prevent attackers from gaining an unfair advantage by hanging near the opponent’s goal. Players are penalized when they interfere with play by touching or playing the ball, interfere with any opponent, or gains an advantage.
Why does the game clock count up?
The system for international soccer has the clock start at zero and count up continuously for each 45-minute half.
This allows the referee, who keeps track of the time, to manage stoppage time which is added to the end of each half to compensate for any time lost throughout the match for things such as injuries, substitutions or intentional delays in play.
How much stoppage time is added at the end of each half is at the referee’s discretion. That is why World Cup games will go past the designated 45 minutes for the first half or 90 minutes for a full match.
The second half begins with the clock reset to 45 minutes.
More time in the knockout stage
When the 48 teams conclude group play, the knockout stage, or the single-elimination playoff, changes the way a match concludes.
With group play, if teams are tied at the end of stoppage time, the game is recorded as a draw.
But in the playoffs, there must be a winner of each match. So, 30 minutes of extra time is added. The first team to score wins. If neither team nets the “golden goal” in the 30 minutes, the teams will then head to a shootout of penalty kicks to determine the victor.
The knockout-stage rounds start June 28.
Key terminology:
• Penalty kick – After a foul in the penalty box, a player takes a single shot at the goal. It is defended only by the opposing goalkeeper and is taken from the penalty spot 12 yards (11 meters) from the goal line and centered between the goalposts.
• Shootout – A way to determine the winner of a match that is tied after regular time and extra time. Each team has five players take a shot, one after the other. The teams that score the most goals in that sequence wins the game.
• Sudden death – If the score is tied after each team’s five shooters take their turns, the shootout moves to sudden death rounds. The teams that scores while the other misses automatically wins the round and the match.
• Clean sheet – Another term for a shutout.
• Hat trick – When a player scores three goals in a single match.
• Own goal – A goal scored by a defender into their own net.
• Free kick – A game restart awarded for a foul or handball outside the penalty area that gives the team a chance to advance play or make a move on the opponent’s goal.
• Direct kick – A free kick from which a player can score a goal directly without the ball touching another player
• Set piece – A deliberate kick taken from a specific location.
• Tiki-taka – A possession-based style of play using short passes and quick movement.
• Low block – A defensive tactic where defenders stay low to cut off passing lanes.
• Header – A deliberate shot or pass made by a player using their head when the ball is in the air. The action can be done while standing, jumping or diving.
• Yellow card – An official warning from the referee that acts as a warning to a player to adjust their on-field behavior to avoid further penalties.
• Red card — A penalty given by a referee for the most serious on-field punishment. It requires a player to leave the field immediately and prevents them from participating further in the match.