The World Cup is organized similarly to football season; there are 32 teams competing for a championship.
They are organized in eight divisions of four teams. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Every team in the group plays once and is awarded points. Think of it as a regular season that lasts just three games.
The top two teams from each group move on to the knockout round, which is similar to the playoffs.
Just like the playoffs, there are several tiebreakers if teams have the same point total from group play.
No ties are allowed in the knockout round, so games are decided with an overtime.
Instead of timeouts, fútbol refs tack on additional time at the end of regulation.
Just like football, there are 11 people from each team on the field at one time.
Fútbol has an offsides penalty but, unlike football, this penalty gives possession to the other team.
Think of the defense as the line of scrimmage. If a player on offense is ahead of the deepest defender, he's offsides. The only exception is if the ball is still in front of him.