Since June 11th of this year all you hear in our apartment is the loud bee like sound of the bubuzuelas or what looks like a plastic trumpet.  We are coming towards the end of the World Cup and the excitement in the air grows greater with each passing game.  I was never much of a “soccer” fan but I think that’s because I was never educated on how the sport was actually played.  I realized before the World Cup actually began that either I was going to get annoyed with my hubby for constantly watching the games or I could enjoy them along with him.  I chose the latter and this year I told my hubby that if he wanted me to stay engaged in the game then he should spend the time trying to teach me about it so that I can follow along.   Since some of you might be in the same predicament that I was in I have decided to share the knowledge I have gained through watching countless games since it began this year.  I haven’t learned everything by any means since this is my first time actually following the World Cup.  What I can say is that learning about the game has prevented several fights from ensuing in my household.

• The World Cup is held every 4 years and different countries host it.
• 2014 Brazil
• It is a month long event.
• There can be ties in the first round since it is based on a point system
• There is a mathematical equation that is used to determine who is the winner of the first round the amount of points that is given in ties, wins, and losses. 
• 3 points for a win
• 1 point for a tie
• 0 for a loss
•  You cannot have a tie the rest of the game.
• If a tie occurs somewhere besides the first round then they first go to overtime.
• About 30 minutes all together.
• If it’s still tied after overtime then it goes to penalty. 
• In penalties each team gets five free kicks and who ever gets the best out of that wins the game.
• If they are still tied after that then each team shots one penalty until somebody wins.
• The first round has 32 teams.
• The second has 16 teams.
• The quarterfinals has 8 teams.
• The semifinals have 4 teams.
• The finals have 2 teams.
• Where it gets tricky in the manner in which teams are paired up in the second round.  Once you understand that the teams are linked up with a lesser team then the rest is clear.  What I mean is that the 32 teams were divided into 8 groups of 4 each.  
• Each of the 8 groups has a first and second place winner.
• The first place winner plays the second place winner of another group and vice versa.
• For example: Group A #1 plays Group B #2 and Group A #2 plays Group B #

That is pretty much the format of the World Cup.  I won’t continue to bore you with more details since someone could easily go on speaking on the subject matter for a few more posts.  If you want more information visit here, here, here or simply Google it.