What's offside? And all your other World Cup questions, answered

This World Cup has prompted some questions we simply can't answer for you.

Can anyone stop Messi? Does Merlin the duck like wearing that jersey? What happens if the Congo's statue fan has to sneeze?

That said, if you're a first-time soccer watcher still confused by all this footie, we're here to help! Free kicks, hydration breaks, stoppage time ... there's a lot to know. We put out a call for your burning World Cup questions — and we'll keep answering them if you have more. We're compiling answers to your FAQs below.

Well, first off, it's “offside,” per the AP Stylebook. Secondly, this is a common question — and one that can make you appear a soccer aficionado if you know the answer. Essentially, a player is offside if he or she is closer to the opponent's goal line than the ball and second-to-last opposition player (the goalkeeper is usually the last) the moment the ball is passed by a teammate. There are various caveats — for example, you cannot be offside inside your own half — but that is the gist. It can be confusing and a source of great debate.

Unlike American football, basketball or hockey, the clock never stops in soccer. If there are delays for such things as injuries, blatant time-wasting or the aftermath of goals, those seconds or minutes are added on at the end of each half in a period called “stoppage time.” There's an extra twist in this World Cup: hydration breaks. These three-minute stoppages in the middle of each half have been introduced to help players deal with the summer heat in the United States, Canada and Mexico (they're also a convenient spot for extra TV ads). Those three-minute blocks must also be added to the overall stoppage time, meaning there is typically at least five minutes of extra play in each half of this World Cup.

Well, both are dead-ball situations and given after fouls. The key difference is that a penalty kick is awarded after a foul inside the penalty area — the big rectangle drawn near the opposing goal — and a free kick is awarded outside the penalty area. A penalty is a free shot at goal — from the designated spot, which is central and 12 yards (11 meters) out — with just the goalkeeper able to stop the shot. A free kick can be defended against by a whole team and is taken from where the offense occurred.

Take note of this, as it's likely to be the case in a number of groups. Starting from this World Cup, head-to-head results between two or more teams tied on points will be the first tiebreaker — and not overall goal difference, which had been the case previously. The second tiebreaker is goal difference in the games between the teams concerned, followed by the highest number of goals scored in those games. Only then — as a fourth tiebreaker — does overall goal difference come into play.

It's another new measure being implemented at this World Cup with the intention of speeding up play and stopping time-wasting. If referees deem a player is taking too long on a throw-in, they can start a visual five-second countdown. If it reaches five seconds, the throw-in will be awarded to the opposing team. And it has already happened, with Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Sead Kolašinac giving up a throw-in for taking too long against Canada.

Yes, eagle-eyed reporters and fans have noted that logos on bottles of condiments — such as ketchup from Heinz — have been taped over inside stadiums. This is a directive of FIFA, the soccer governing body always very careful to protect its official partners and sponsors and give them exclusive visibility at stadiums. For the same reason, stadiums named after a sponsor — such as Gillette Stadium near Boston — have been renamed for the tournament by FIFA, which is instead using generic names.

Wondering how fans of these top European soccer nations can be spending so many weeks in North America, are you? Well, the Europeans do love their soccer and this supersized tournament will have been in the diary for years. The amount of vacation days employees get vary from country to country. In the U.K, for example, most workers receive at least 28 days of paid annual leave per year. In France, they get a minimum of 30 working days. In Spain, it's 22.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

Netherlands fans take part in an "Orange Walk" to Houston Stadium before a FIFA World Cup Group F soccer match between Netherlands and Sweden in Houston, Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Shapley)

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez talks during a hydration break during the World Cup Group K soccer match between Portugal and Uzbekistan in Houston, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Referee Jesús Valenzuela, right, shows Qatar's Ahmed Fathy a yellow card during the World Cup Group B soccer match against Bosnia in Seattle, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Argentina's Lionel Messi background left, fails to score a penalty shot during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Austria in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Japan's Junya Ito (14) scores their third goal past Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen (16) during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Tunisia and Japan in Guadalupe, near Monterrey, Mexico, Saturday, June 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

NEW YORK (AP) — Another veer up the roller coaster for artificial-intelligence stocks is pulling the U.S. market higher on Thursday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to trim its loss for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 307 points, or 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

Micron Technology helped lead the market after jumping 19.4%. The maker of memory chips for computers reported much stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it gave a stronger growth forecast for the current quarter than Wall Street expected. That helped allay worries a bit that its stock had grown too expensive after coming into the day with a surge of 267% so far this year.

Micron and AI stocks broadly have been under pressure recently because of worries that their profits can’t possibly keep pace with the tremendous rallies for their stock prices. But beyond Micron, Qualcomm said late Thursday that the acceleration of the AI era is forcing it to upgrade forecasts for its own growth in upcoming years.

The chip company said it expects its revenue outside of handsets, including data centers, to hit $40 billion in its fiscal year of 2029, roughly double its prior target. Qualcomm’s stock rose 9.7%.

The broad U.S. stock market also got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. They regressed after oil prices dipped and reports showed inflation is behaving pretty much as economists expected.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, slipped 0.2% to $73.70 and is near its roughly $72 price from just before the war with Iran. It’s come well off its highs above $100 caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the war, which slowed the global flow of oil.

That jump in oil prices earlier this year sent inflation sharply higher, and a report showed that a measure of inflation hitting U.S. consumers accelerated to 4.1% last month from 3.8% in April. But that wasn’t any worse than economists expected, and the hope is that inflation may ease because of the drop-off in oil prices.

That helped the yield on the 10-year Treasury slip to 4.38% from 4.41% late Wednesday and from 4.56% earlier this month.

High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are threatening to slow economies, and they have already sent rates higher for mortgages and other kinds of loans. High yields also hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive. That raises the pressure on AI winners.

In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 5.4% after its own AI winners shot higher, including a 13.1% surge for SK Hynix.

Other markets also rallied, including gains of 4.6% for Japan’s Nikkei 225 and 0.8% for the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100. A 1.4% drop for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier.

AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Options traders David Rush, left, and Scott Frinzi work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A man walks past a monitor showing stock prices of companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

People walk past a monitor showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)