With the 2026 men’s World Cup kicking off on June 11, we asked some of The Athletic’s writers who don’t normally cover soccer for the one thing they would like to know about the beautiful game.And that’s the thing about The Athletic — we have the experts to answer those questions!We know this summer’s tournament across the United States, Canada and Mexico will not just be for the committed soccer fan; it will be a window into the game for casual followers of other sports, too.So we lined up Carl Anka, Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, Caoimhe O’Neill, Liam Tharme, Adam Hurrey and former Premier League referee Graham Scott to answer questions from their colleagues Marcus Thompson, Ken Rosenthal, Michael Silver, Chantel Jennings, Bruce Feldman, John Hollinger and Hannah Vanbiber.Got a burning question you’ve always wanted to know about soccer? Let us know in the comments below.Make sure you don’t miss a thing by following the best of our 2026 men’s World Cup coverage here.Ken Rosenthal: How extra time is calculated!Extra time is the 30 minutes (15 minutes each way) played in a knockout game if it is tied after 90 minutes. But Ken is asking about additional or stoppage time, the number of extra minutes played at the end of each half to compensate for breaks in play. Here’s The Athletic’s officiating expert Graham Scott to explain more…Graham Scott: In the Premier League, and most professional soccer, some stoppages are recorded accurately. These are:
What’s the question about soccer you’ve always wondered and never asked?
From sliding knee celebrations to rolling substitutions, our soccer experts answer colleagues' burning questions ahead of the World Cup
2,080 words~9 min read
