Last week we asked you, dear readers, what you wanted to know about the 2026 World Cup.The questions — which came in across discussions and our newsletters — were diverse, ranging from the impact of the heat to stutter run-ups in penalties and how certain statistics are calculated.Thank you for all the queries. We have selected 10 of the best, edited them for brevity, and asked our writers to answer them…Was the group phase simply a long filtering process, with the ‘real’ World Cup only starting in the knockout rounds? This is largely true of any World Cup, or major international tournament, where the box-office clashes only truly begin during the knockout phase.The point is an interesting one, though. Given the expanded nature of this 48-team iteration, there were fewer opportunities for the dominant sides to crash out after the group stage — but the cream (nearly) always rises to the top eventually.There have also been a few upsets. The Athletic’s Conor O’Neill recently wrote on the volume of underdog victories this summer, and how it is largely in keeping with the rate seen in previous World Cups — just with more opportunities to see them.That would also be to ignore some of the great stories that have come from unheralded nations: Cape Verde made it to the knockout stage and then almost dumped out holders Argentina, while nine of the 10 African nations got to the round of 32 following their expanded allocation this year.The real 2026 World Cup might have only started in the knockouts, but no more than any other edition of the tournament.Question: Anonymous user, answer: Mark CareyIs it possible that FIFA would delay the start of a game due to heat?France’s last-16 victory over Paraguay in Philadelphia was played at around 100F (38C), making it one of the hottest World Cup matches ever.As we know, FIFA introduced hydration breaks at all matches in this tournament to combat the more extreme temperatures (and to fit in mid-half TV adverts, if you are cynical), even though some of the stadiums being used in North America are domed and air-conditioned.Aurelien Tchouameni of France tries to cool off during their match against Paraguay. (Howard Smith / ISI Photos / ISI Photos via Getty Images)In the case of extreme heat, FIFA’s emergency care manual states that suspension of a match is only considered when a measurement called the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is “near, at or above 32C (89.6F).” WGBT is an estimate of the combined effects of air temperature, humidity, wind, and sunlight on the human body. This would lead to “communication between the general coordinator/match commissioner, referees, the FIFA chief medical officer/venue medical officer and other persons managing the match”. Though, unlike thunderstorms, which lead to the halting of a match if within eight miles (just under 13km) of the stadium, there have been no heat delays as of yet.Question: Charles K., answer: Eduardo TansleyFIFA is obviously making a fortune off this World Cup. Where does the money go? Asked differently, ‘Who owns FIFA, and is entitled to its profit stream?’Well, isn’t this marvelous timing? As luck would have it, The Athletic has today published the latest in our BookKeeper series – with FIFA coming under the financial microscope.Distilling that into a pithy answer is near-impossible, but we can at least easily break down where FIFA has budgeted for its $13billion bounty across the 2023-26 cycle to go: $7.6bn on competition organizing (of which half is going on this World Cup alone); $3.9bn in development funding, principally to FIFA’s 211 national member associations; $1.1bn on the governing of both FIFA and football more widely; and $331m on the commercialisation of FIFA’s broadcasting and marketing rights.Our piece breaks that down in much more detail, and also deals with your second question.FIFA is, by design, a not-for-profit organisation. It pays no dividends; it has no shareholders. Instead, as FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino are keen to repeat, all of the money world football’s governing body earns is intended to be recycled into the sport.FIFA works on four-year financial cycles and repeatedly only forecasts a $100million surplus at the end of each one. But, as our piece unveils, the reality is that FIFA has repeatedly performed well beyond budget, boosting its reserves and hoarding far greater sums than budgeted.Question: Anonymous user, answer: Chris WeatherspoonIs it fair that some teams have to play in outdoor stadiums at this tournament while others get closed, indoor stadiums?Not really, but life is unfair. It’s tempting to wish for all games to be played in identical conditions, leaving the quality of each team’s performance on the day as the only variable to decide the result. But isn’t the fact that football is not an exact science part of why it’s so great?I have been to AT&T Stadium and Estadio Azteca at this World Cup (among others), and if you have experienced the oppressive heat of a Texan summer, you will agree that the arena near Dallas absolutely requires air conditioning for both the quality of the product and the safety of everyone involved. Extreme heat, as we have reported, can have a major impact on players’ bodies and impact recovery time.The Azteca in Mexico City provides other obstacles apart from heat. (Yuri Cortez / AFP via Getty Images)However, the stadiums with roofs and air conditioning are largely spread around the tournament and France, who played in 100-degree heat in their last-16 match with Paraguay to experience one of the hottest matches on record, are still strong favourites to win it.