【2018 World Cup For Dummies】Things every fan should know

Recurring every four years, the World Cup is coming again! Fans must have been anticipating for a long time, and those who are not particularly interested in football would also follow the crowd for this big international event, even staying up all night long. It’s okay if you aren’t familiar with football. By going through our notes below, you’ll at least end up knowing the key footballers, full schedule of 64 matches, and simple match rules.

Match schedule?

The matches take place from 14th Jun. to 15th Jul. 2018. The group stage starts from 14^th Jun., and the group winners will enter the round of 16 on 30^th Jun. The quarter-finals take place from 6^th Jul., and the semi-finals start from 10^th Jul. The third-place playoff will be held on 14^th Jul., and the next day, 15^th Jul. will be the final.

Simple Match Rules

• Offside: Offside offence occurs when a player from the attacking side passes the ball to his teammate who is nearer to his opponents’ goal line.
• 12 yds: This occurs when the goalkeeper fouls inside the penalty area. The kick is taken from a spot that is 12 yards from the goal line and in front of the goal.
• Free kick: This occurs when there’s a violation of the rules.
• Throw-in: When a player kicks the ball outside the sidelines, a throw-in will be given.
• Corner kick: When the defensive team kicks the ball outside the end line, the attacking team can get a corner kick.
• Number of players: Each team has 11 players (including the goalkeeper) and 11 bench players.
• Time limit: The match is split up into two halves of 45 minutes and a 15-minute half-time between the halves. Stoppage time is decided and given by the referees, usually 3-5 minutes in the second half. But for the round of 16 and the matches follow, if the score is tied at the end of the regular time, the game would go into extra time, containing 15-minute periods in both halves. If the score is still tied after extra time, the teams would proceed to penalty shoot-outs to determine the winner.
• Substitution: Every team can only make a maximum of three substitutions during a game, and the player being replaced cannot take part in the match further.
• Yellow and Red Cards: Two yellow cards equal to a red card, meaning the player gets sent off and cannot take part in the next game. Sometimes a red card could be directly shown.

Key Footballers

Footballer	Nation	Personal Information
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	After winning a few trophies for Manchester United, he transferred to Real Madrid. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2008 and has also won other 22 awards. Ronaldo has become the first player ever to complete the Grand Slam. He has won the Ballon d’Or for a fifth time to move level with Messi.
Lionel Messi	Argentina	Messi has been playing football since his childhood in Barcelona. He won the Ballon d’Or four times from 2009 to 2012 and is the first player to win the fifth Ballon d’Or. He is the top scorer in Argentina’s football history.
Eden Hazard	Belgium	Hazard plays for Chelsea, and his parents were both Belgium professional footballers. His speed and attacking skills are widely acknowledged. With his performance and great potential, he is highly praised by the press in England as the next footballer who is most likely to move level with Messi and Ronaldo.
Philippe Coutinho	Brazil	This season, Coutinho transferred from Liverpool to Barcelona at a fee of €160 million. He has played in different positions in his Liverpool days which made his goal shooting and passing skills outstanding. He had appeared in Premier League for Liverpool for 152 times with 41 goals and 35 assists.
Harry Kane	England	Kane from Tottenham Hotspur has broken the Premier League goal record set by Shearer 22 years ago with his 39 goals in 2017. What’s more, his tally for all competitions is 56 which outperforms Messi’s and made him the top scorer in 2017.
Neymar	Brazil	Neymar transferred from Barcelona to PSG in a transaction of €222 million in 2017, the highest transfer fee ever, making him the world’s most expensive player. At the same time, he is the best player in Ligue 1 of the season.
Paul Pogba	France	Paul Pogba plays for Manchester United. He is an all-round midfielder, being able to attack and defend well with his fast speed and strong body. In 2016, he transferred from Juventus back to Manchester United at a fee of €105 million. He is also famous for rapidly changing hairstyles.
Mohamed Salah Ghaly	Egypt	Salah plays for Liverpool and is the first Egyptian player in the team, nicknamed the “Egyptian Messi”. He is talented to get rid of his opponents with his speed and skills, making him become the fastest player to reach 20 goals in Premier League. In his debut season, he has broken the record set by Ronaldo with his record of 32 goals in the same season.
Antoine Griezmann	France	Griezmann plays for Atlético Madrid and led France to win the third place in UEFA Euro 2016 they hosted. Also, he won the tournament’s top scorer and best player with 6 goals.
Kylian Mbappé Lottin	France	Mbappé, French football’s new star, joins PSG from Monaco on loan, nicknamed the “New Thierry Henry”. In the last UCL matches, he assisted the team to advance to the quarter-finals, and Juventus’ goalkeeper Buffon finally conceded a goal from him in the second leg. At the age of 18, he became the youngest scorer in the semi-finals. Also, he is the youngest player in the 2018 World Cup.

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