A beginners guide to the World Cuo

This is a series of questions about the big event, slightly tongue-in-cheek, but hopefully informative too.

When is the World Cup?

Starts this Friday, from June 11th until July 11th

Where is the World Cup being held?

South Africa, it's the first World Cup to be hosted by an African country

Is South Africa the Nelson Mandela country?

Yes, it is

Will the World Cup be on TV?

Of course, in the UK it's live on BBC and ITV in glorious HD, in the US, it's on ESPN

How many teams are their in the World Cup?

There will be 32 teams in total, separated into 8 groups of 4 to start with

How many games will be played per day?

Three, to begin with for each teams first two games, then two a day after that

Who's the favourite to win the World Cup?

Brazil and Spain are the teams with the shortest odds

Can i bet on it?

Yes, from top goalscorer to who will referee the final

How does this World Cup work then?

The 32 teams are divided into 8 groups of four, each group plays a round robin with three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero for being beat. The top two teams from each group progress to the next round where it's single elimination

Wait!....single elimination? Isn't football full of draws?

Not in the knockout rounds my friend, from the second round of the World Cup onwards, the teams play 90 minutes, if the score is level, they play 30 minutes of 'extra time', if the scores are still level after that, penalty kicks are taken to decide the winner. England have the worst record for for losing in penalty shootouts

Will David Beckham be playing in the World Cup?

No, he's injured

How about Pele?

No, he's retired

How about the headbutt guy from last time?

Zinedine Zidane? no, he retired too, his last game was that 2006 World Cup final

So....no Beckham, no Pele, no headbutt guy, which players are worth watching at the World Cup then?

Leo Messi of Argentina is the current holder of world footballer of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal always excites, Wayne Rooney of England plays like a kid after drinking a gallon of Sunny Delight, Kaka, Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Xavi Hernandez, Peter Crouch.....okay, take your pick but not Peter Crouch, with some games in 3D, you may think a daddy long legs is in front of the screen

Who should i support at the World Cup?

Preferably your home country, if they haven't qualified, take your pick of the others

Which World Cup games should i watch?

Everything from the Second Round onwards has the potential for heart-stopping drama. In the group stage, some of the games to watch are South Africa vs Mexico (June 11th), the colonial revenge matches: USA vs England (June 12th), Portugal vs Brazil (June 25th) and anything involving Argentina because Maradona is their coach and Messi is their star player

Are there any Colombian singers involved in all of this?

What an odd question, but yes, as it happens Shakira is singing the official song of World Cup 2010