1. The ball must always be black-and-white.
   Run, don't walk, on the field.
2. Don't touch the ball with your hands!
   Players must be barefoot on the field.

This is the day-one-before-lunch thing players learn about soccer. They are allowed to walk while on the field, of course, and they *must* wear shoes, called "cleats" or "boots."

1. yes
2. no

This is why you won't see a player "elbow" a ball, like they use their heads and knees. However, if the ball accidentally hits a player's hand or arm, that's not a foul.

1. the winger
   the goalie
2. the sweeper
   the midfielder

The goalkeeper is allowed to grab the ball with her hands to stop it from entering the goal. Goalie is perhaps the most mentally challenging position in soccer; it offers many opportunities to be the game's hero or its goat.

1. three seconds
   six seconds
2. eleven seconds
   as long as necessary

Several rules govern the goalkeeper handling the ball. In addition to the six-second rule, the goalkeeper is not allowed to handle the ball after releasing it, until it has contacted another player. The punishment for these infractions is an indirect free kick.

1. halves
   innings
2. periods
   quarters

A soccer game is very simply divided into two halves, with halftime in between. This has to do with the simplicity of play -- it's not like baseball, in which the offense and defense trade places regularly throughout the game.

1. hooker
   lock
2. midfielder
   both #1 and #2

Soccer does have midfielders, but not locks or hookers. Those players are found in rugby, which has a number of colorful names for its players.

1. the team captain
   the highest-scoring player
2. a forward
   a midfielder

"Striker" is just another name for forward. Though they are the players most likely to score, a striker is not necessarily the highest-scoring player -- in fact, there's almost always more than one on the field.

1. aggressing
   charging
2. being offside
   being "se offendo"

Obviously, the goalie doesn't count as a defender in this situation. Or, put another way, being offside is being closer to the goal than any defender but one.

1. a striker
   not in active play
2. directly even with a defender
   both #2 and #3

To be offside, the player must be ahead of, not even with, the closest defender, and involved in active play. To just be standing offside is not called as a penalty.

1. a direct free kick
   an indirect free kick
2. a caution
   an expulsion

Expulsion (also called ejection) isn't just a punishment for the player. The team is not allowed to bring in a new player, so it hurts the whole squad, which is now one player light.

1. black
   red
2. white
   yellow

A red card is a type of penalty card. It's used in more sports than soccer, but always denotes a serious offense and a serious penalty.

1. a caution
   an indirect free kick
2. a time-out
   the need for video replay

Not all fouls get are marked by penalty cards; in fact, most aren't. A yellow card tells a player that if he continues to violate the rules, he'll be ejected, and his team will have to play one person light.

1. A direct free kick is awarded.
   A player is offside.
2. general unsportsmanlike conduct
   There is no orange card.

Usually, only yellow and red cards are used in soccer. Indoor soccer has a "blue card" used to indicate that a player will be sent to the penalty box, a punishment that association soccer does not use.

1. a goalkeeper, three defenders, and four offensive players
   a goalkeeper, five players on the right half, and five players on the left
2. a goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, and four forwards
   It depends; only the goalkeeper is mandatory.

Unlike the fixed formation of players in a sport like baseball, soccer is fluid in how players can be arranged and used. This allows a coach to assign more defenders, for a more cautious game, or more forwards, for a more aggressive one.

1. nine
   ten
2. eleven
   twelve

While the formation of a team is at the manager's discretion, things would get out of hand if there were no maximum number. So it's capped at eleven. This number can go down if a player is ejected, because substitutions are not allowed in the case of expulsion.

1. true
2. false

According in international rules, a field may be artificial turf, as long as it is green in color. Players probably prefer grass, while those who do their laundry probably prefer artificial turf.

1. the goal posts
   the ball and opposing players at kick-off
2. the goalkeeper and any defender at kick-off
   the referee and any player

This would be a long way for a referee to have to stand off from a player! Instead, it's the distance between the goal posts. Opposing players do have to stand at a distance from the ball at kick-off, but it's not eight yards.

1. 60 minutes
   90 minutes
2. 110 minutes
   120 minutes

There are two halves, with 45 minutes of play each. Halftime is usually 15 minutes.

1. to keep time for the game
   to set up the team's formation for the game
2. to represent the team at the coin toss
   to substitute for the goalie if needed

The team captain has unofficial responsibilities, of course. He or she is usually a competent veteran player who raises morale and sets a standard for sportsmanslike conduct.

1. the maximum number of players allowed
   the goal they wish to defend
2. the color of the team shirts
   which ball to start with as the game ball

This also determines which direction they want to play; that is, which goal they want to be advancing toward. This can provide some tactical advantage, given where the sun is and how the wind is blowing. In compensation, the losing team gets the ball at kick-off.

1. one
   two
2. three
   It depends.

Usually, there are two kick-offs, one for each half. However, if the game goes into overtime, there can be another kick-off.

1. move the ball backward to his teammates
   score a goal from the kick
2. be in the opponent's half of the field
   touch the ball again after kicking it

Another player must contact the ball before the kick-off kick can touch it again. There's a similar rule for goalkeepers, when they touch the ball with their hands.

1. nine feet
   nine yards
2. ten feet
   ten yards

This is a pretty healthy distance from the ball. Still, it keeps opposing players from crowding the kick-off and getting almost instant control of the ball.

1. to the edge of the penalty area
   10 yards past the penalty area
2. to the halfway line, or anywhere in his team's territory
   There is no limit on this.

The goalie is not allowed to use his hands when outside the penalty area. However, there is no restriction on the goalie advancing past that and up the field. It's just really bad judgment on his part, leaving the goal undefended.

1. lines defining the penalty area
   lines dividing the field in half
2. imaginary lines on the shoulder showing where it's okay to touch the ball
   the sidelines

Called "sidelines" in other sports, the long edges of the field are called "touchlines" in soccer. Rugby also uses this term.

1. a punt
   a direct free kick
2. an indirect free kick
   a throw-in

When a player loses control of the ball to the extent that it rolls out of bounds, a player from the opposing team throws it back in. As with an indirect free kick, a throw-in cannot result directly in a goal.

1. throwing at greater than a 30 degree angle
   throwing with the hands lower than the head
2. the ball traveling less than 5 meters
   the ball going into a goal

In a throw-in, the player must throw the ball with hands over his head. The ball going into a goal is allowed, but does not score a point.

1. a corner kick
   a direct free kick
2. an indirect free kick
   a throw-in

A corner kick is made by a member of the team on offense. A goal scored by a corner kick is legal, though it's obviously rare, given the position of the goal in relation to the corners of the field.

1. a coin toss
   a scrum
2. a penalty kick
   a throw-in

Only the goalkeeper can defend against a penalty kick. That's why they often result in goals.

1. bounce off the goalie's body
   contact a player besides the kicker
2. hit the ground once
   travel more than 20 yards

In a direct free kick, the player may score with his kick. In an indirect free kick, the ball must touch a player other than the kicker before a goal can be scored.

1. just one
   one, but he has assistants
2. two
   four

There's one referee whose rulings are ultimately final. However, assistant referees help him or her keep an eye on play in different parts of the field, and perform other minor duties.

1. dribbling with unusual skill
   giving a player a yellow card
2. submitting a team formation to the referee
   traveling really fast upfield or downfield

When a referee gives a player a caution, or yellow card, she also makes a notation in her book. Therefore, giving a yellow card is also called "booking" a player.

1. the Football Code
   the Laws of the Game
2. the Rules According to Hoyle
   the Queensberry Rules

The Laws of the Game were officially formulated in England in 1863. Smaller organizations, like youth soccer clubs, might have their own set of rules, based on the Laws but adding tenets about sportsmanlike behavior and so on.

1. six
   ten
2. twelve
   seventeen

We say "broadly speaking" because each law is an area (e.g. "The Players' Equipment") with several rules and instructions included in it. It might be more accurate to call them the seventeen Categories, but tradition holds that they're called Laws.

1. Federacion de Futbol Internacionale (FFI)
   Federation Internacionale de Futbol Association (FIFA)
2. International Soccer Association (ISA)
   World Cup Organization (WCO)

FIFA runs international football (soccer), including the World Cup. The use of both "Federation" and "Association" in the name isn't redundant: Soccer is formally known as "association football," and the adjective comes after the verb in French.