How the World Cup Works, for the Soccer Newbie

Extensive qualifying campaigns. The opaque World Cup draw. And how do points (no, we don't mean goals) work, anyway? The logistics and technicalities of Earth's biggest sporting event can be a bit mystifying to the soccer newbie. That's where we come in

Here's how the World Cup works

There are three general phases to the World Cup: qualifying, group play and the knockout stage. Now let's go into more detail

Qualifying