Sports

A simple guide to soccer for World Cup beginners

Soccer is known as “the beautiful game,” but where some see an enchanting ballet in cleats, set on a stage of grass to a multilingual choral sound track (no vuvuzelas allowed this time!), others can’t make headers or tails of this fitful 22-man dance.

With the World Cup on the program for the next month, here’s our guide to soccer’s basic choreography:

The players: Eleven per side, a goalkeeper and 10 field players, which generally breaks down as four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards, though the definitions are fluid. More conservative teams will use five defenders, possession-oriented squads will assign five midfielders, and goal-greedy lineups will go with a third forward. Three substitutions are allowed per match (rosters have 23 players in total), and players cannot reenter. If a player is ejected, his team must proceed with 10 men.

The timing: There are two 45-minute halves. Because there is a running clock, time squandered on overbaked goal celebrations and exaggerated displays of pain is made up as “added time” or “injury time.” Typically, there are one or two minutes added following the first half, three or four tacked on to the second half. In the group stage, there are draws. In the knockout rounds, if the score is tied at the end of regulation, there are two 15-minute overtime periods — it’s not sudden death. If it’s still deadlocked, they go to angst-ridden penalty kicks.

The field: If one team knocks the ball completely over the touchline (the long side of the rectangle), the other team is given a throw-in. If it goes over the goal line (short side of the rectangle) off the defense, a corner kick is awarded to the offense, and these are prime scoring opportunities. If the ball goes over the goal line off the attacking team, the defense takes over for a goal kick from inside its 6-yard box (the small one). If a foul is committed by the defense inside the larger, 18-yard box, a penalty shot is awarded. And the offsides rule? A player can’t be behind the last defender when a pass is struck.

The fouls: Simple fouls give possession to the team that was fouled from the spot of the infraction. On a direct free kick, you can try to score — along with corner kicks, these are known as “set pieces” — bending it like Beckham over the wall of defenders. Players are cautioned after bad fouls with a yellow card — they’re “booked” because the referee writes it down in an adorable little notepad — and two yellows equals a red card, or banishment. For a particularly nasty violation, you’ll see “straight red.” And, oh yeah, no hands — a handball in the box will result in a penalty.

The most important rule: Get to the bar early, make sure the big screen is on and the pour is cold (or room temp, if you’re one of those) and enjoy. This tournament’s a beautiful thing.