Offsides, Overtime, and the World Cup

 Episode 117 of I Hate Talking shifts from Toy Story to the World Cup, with the hosts celebrating Spain’s victory and unpacking the rules behind extra time, stoppage time, and penalty shootouts. They use the match as a springboard to explain offsides, including how positioning is judged, why cherry-picking is prevented, and when offsides does or doesn’t apply on throw-ins, corner kicks, and goal kicks.

The conversation then widens into a broader sports comparison, touching on basketball’s three-second rule, backcourt violations, and how much more running soccer players do over the course of a match. The hosts also reflect on the most memorable World Cup moments they watched, from the U.S. matches to a high-scoring England-France game and dramatic knockout rounds.

The episode closes with a look ahead to future World Cups and a lighthearted note about how much fun it was to watch the tournament with family and friends. As always, the hosts end by reinforcing their theme that talking is what leads to understanding.

Keywords: World Cup 2026, Spain wins World Cup, offsides meaning, soccer offsides, extra time, stoppage time, penalty shootout, soccer rules, football rules, cherry-picking in soccer, World Cup recap, soccer strategy, basketball three-second rule, sports rules explained, conversational podcast.

Transcript

I Hate Talking: 0:29

Welcome to episode 117 of I Hate Talking. Hi everyone. So we have not watched Toy Story 4 yet, nor Toy Story 5. So we have been watching a lot of TV, but it has not been anything Disney or Toy Story related. We have been watching the World Cup. That's true, and as of this week, it is now concluded with Spain taking the final game to its conclusion in the positive, and they have won World Cup 2026. Spoiler. That's true. It's, it's been 5 days or so. Yeah, I think it's pretty much out there that even as of the time of this recording, that it's pretty well known. So, but yes, the game is probably not really worth watching the recap. I mean, in the recap, yes, but like the full game. Probably not. -- And -- it was a long game too, cause they went into overtime, however you say it. Extra time, time. There you go. Well, no, extra time, extra minutes. I don't know. -- I don't -- know, I'll have to check. I don't know what that exactly is called. Extra time is the time added to the standard time for the hydration break and different stoppages. So is this the word of the day? I guess it could be the original word of the day was gonna be offsides because I think more people understand that nowadays that soccer has become a little bit more ingrained in American culture and sort of people do follow the World Cup in general. So I think offsides maybe is a bit more well understood these days, I suppose we could do. A doubleheader. Is it called a knockout match? Well, if there's a golden goal, yes, then that would be. Like a knockout time. I think it just apparently it's called extra time. Yeah, it says extra time. is also referred to as overtime. In the World Cup soccer rules, it's 30 minutes, which are composed of 2 15 minute halves, and there is no golden goal. Which is the golden goal essentially being the first team to score wins. So that does not happen. They have all 30 minutes to play out the entire time, and then if it's tied again at the end of that extra time, then it goes to a penalty shootout. Right. And even then it's not the first to make a goal, right? You get like 5 chances. Correct, yes, and then if it's a tie after that, you go do it again. We got to see one of those, got to go to Vegas recently and we just so happened to be on a date in a casino. We had just finished our like drinks and all that and we were about to hit the casino floor. When we heard all this ruckus and we're all like, hey, what's that? And so we went over there. And we saw really entertaining penalty kicks. I think that was the first time I've ever actually seen it, the game. It's somewhat rare because you have to have at least A game in like the semifinals. After the knockout rounds. Because that's where you actually have to determine a winner instead of allowing it to be a tie, whereas in like the knockout rounds, it's just gonna be points based, so a game can end in a, in a draw in that scenario. So, and then there has to be a tie at both the end of regular time and then also a tie at the end of the extra time. Yeah. And then I think I've heard people refer to the time added to the end of the standard 45 minute half as extra time, but it's also referred to more explicitly as stoppage time. Oh, OK, yeah, I've heard that term before. Yes, so that is the time that is added to the regular time for injuries, substitutions, and other interruptions such as the hydration break. Right? So I had heard, and you can correct me if you think otherwise. I'd heard that this year for FIFA World Cup, they did the 5 minute hydration break. In each half, because it was so hot here in America, where they're hosting. But then I heard somebody else saying, well, that's just what they're saying it's really for commercial break. Well, there certainly were a lot more commercials this World Cup, so I think that's perhaps true. It's also interesting that in some games, even though the hydration break was supposed to take 5 minutes, either it did not, or the ref just didn't keep track of it because there would be actually less than 5 minutes of stoppage time added afterwards. So that was sort of strange. Like, even the announcers, I think, were sometimes caught off guard by that because they're like, and we'll see at least 5 minutes of stoppage time, and then it would be like 4 minutes or something. I didn't think about that, but you're right, there was definitely at least 1 time it was plus 4 minutes indeed, huh. So I suppose we've touched on some different Definitions of time that is used within. The world of soccer or football, as it is known in the rest of the world, but our official word or phrase of the episode is offsides. OK. So Basically, according to Duck Duck Go AI search assist, a player is in an offside position if any part of their head, body, or feet, excluding hands and arms, is in the opponent's half and closer to the goal line than the ball and the second last opponent. So, they're basically including the goalie as an opponent in that particular definition. So that's why you would have basically the first defender or the last defender essentially would be offsides if you're past that person. On their side of the field. OK, so that makes um some sense because when you clarify that the goalie counts as an opponent, which he does, that makes sense, because I thought I had understood offsides finally, after all these years. And then when you said that, I was like, oh no, wait, now there has to be two opponents, yes, obviously the goalie and But here's a question, what if the goalie goes rogue and leaves his box and runs to the front? Does there still have to be 2? Soccer opponents. Um, I'm not sure. We'll have to check because maybe AI got this wrong because I thought it was just basically a player. That is not the goalie. So, perhaps we can look at that. That is pretty rare as well. That may occur like if there's been a red card and they're playing a man down and then they want to pull the goalie to try to Score, yeah, push it forward or something. So, there are some nuances about offsides. So offsides cannot occur if you're on your own side of the field. So you could have the goalie in his Goal and then all the opponents standing like at the, your home goal, and if you're on your side, you can. Be on sides essentially, so OK, -- you can go behind them or in front of them -- and if you're -- on your side of the field -- because you're not shooting to your goal. No, but even if the Ball is passed from like the 18 yard line to the closest edge of the circle. And all the defenders are closer to the home goal, then that's not offsides cause you're still on your side of the field. OK, wait, yes, but if they were to push it to go to make a goal, then it would be offsides. No. Oh no OK. So then, A player can be quote unquote, offsides, but then it's not necessarily going to be a stoppage if they are not involved in the play. So, typically, you'll see the offsides call when they either receive a pass or are somehow involved in the play with like either covering a different opposing player or something like that. And then, so wait, so for that you're saying. Yeah, say some a player wants to be proactive and runs towards the goal, and then just chills there. As long as he doesn't get the ball first before the other opponent comes, he's OK. -- He can run over that way and hang out -- if he's not involved in the play at all. Yeah, -- if he's just -- just go and hang out over there. OK, because is that something uh that teams, is that a strategy that they could maybe back out? If they realize like, oh no, there's all, you know, like, they're way ahead of us, so we're all behind. So the player could instead of trying to run ahead and get the ball, could he just step back? And then the team is offsides. -- Like -- the defenders are basically -- Pulling this player offsides by -- moving closer to, yes, that is true. They do that sometimes. Now, the critical thing about offsides is that the position of the player is only measured when the ball is passed to them. So, at the time their teammate is passing the ball, they actually kick it. They have to be onsides, but then immediately after the kick, they can go into the quote unquote offsides position because the ball has already been in play. OK. Because they're theoretically moving to the next play, right, they're moving faster than the defender, and they can receive the pass, -- and that's -- OK as long as they don't touch the ball again, right? That's where all those like fancy. VAR replays come into play where they're checking that player's exact position at the time the ball was actually kicked as a pass. That's where I finally realized I understand offsides was they had one of those. Graphics, they lined up. And they showed that his shoulder and part of his head. was off like ahead of the defender. And so he didn't, the goal didn't count or whatnot, right? So I was like, oh, that visual really helped me see, but they said that if he had just moved his shoulder, Like I guess to the right, like a little bit back. Then he would have been fine, because he was leaning towards the left, he was offsides. And it's crazy that it can be that strict. So what's the purpose of offsides though, like. For the rules, why is it so strict? Well, to prevent exactly what you were saying, that a player could just go hang out on the opposing side of the field and just wait for a pass, and that could be colloquially known as cherry-picking because you're basically just hanging out and waiting for a pass, and that offside's role is to try to prevent that. OK. Yeah, I can see that. And then offsides rules are suspended for throw-ins, so a player can receive a ball from a throw-in and be quote unquote offsides, and that is allowed. There is no offsides in a corner kick, and then there's also no offsides during a goal kick. So even A player that is. On the same team that is performing the goal kick, they will not be offsides in that particular scenario. OK. Now, typically, it's gonna be quite a long pass to pass to somebody that far away in a goal kick, but it is possible, right? There's a lot of rules, like, In soccer, you think initially it's just a lot of running and kicking. But there's a lot of nuanced rules in this. I guess I mean, I think there's like offsides in hockey, right? I don't even know hockey at all. So I think there's offsides, there's icing on in hockey as well that has some sort of similar rules, I believe. So, it's all about player positioning with these type of games. Can you have offsides in basketball? I don't, I don't know. -- I've never heard of all sides -- in basketball. Like, -- like -- I'm trying to think of all the roles. It's been so long since I was in that world, and I never played. I, we were very much a basketball family. So I'm trying, I've never heard that term, I feel like for that. No, the biggest quote unquote cheat you would do in basketball that I was aware of was, yeah, when you're throwing in, or in a position, like you're kind of boxed in. You throw the ball at the person's foot, and it goes out and then your team gets the ball and you can all reset and play a better. From better positions. So, basketball does not have offsides, but have you heard of the three-second violation? When you don't throw it or you don't bounce it for 3 seconds, an offensive player cannot remain in the paint area for more than 3 seconds. Oh, yeah, I do know that. I do know that. Well, I don't know the word paint area. I'm trying to think of it a box. What do we call it a box. -- I'm trying to think of what we call -- it officially, yeah, OK, there you go. Oh man, this is coming back. Yeah. So yeah, you can't just like, again, I guess it's the same kind of idea, right? You can't just hang out there waiting. You got to be moving. If you're in that section. And then there's a backcourt violation that is somewhat to do with player positioning that occurs when an offensive player returns the ball to the backcourt after crossing the midline. So I guess that's actually to like prevent some of the back passes that happen very frequently in soccer. So basically, once you're past the midline, you can't pass backwards. So you have to continue to drive. So that's very different than soccer where you have all the freedom to pass backwards and keep control of the ball all the way back to the goalie if the team so desires. Oh, they love to do that, it seems like. That was, yeah, a lot of time, I guess 90 minutes is a long time watching the World Cup. I'm like, man, y'all are in no hurry. You're just dillydallying out there passing it back and forth. I just felt like it was like our front yard just kicking it around to each other. And then they would get into it for sure, and then it would get intense, but. Right, they're looking for those gaps in the defense or trying to set up a set play or something like that. So they'll just pass it back in order to maintain control of the ball until they find that opportunity. So That can happen with soccer as well, where you're trying to get it out on the other person, right? That happens. Frequently where you're basically kicking it as hard as you can against the opponent and hoping that it bounces out so that you take a throw in or take a corner or something like that. Yeah, they do that in soccer too. So That was the The thing that was probably the most prevalent thing to referee when I was doing referee for youth soccer, you had to make sure that the ball was given to the correct team after the ball went out of play. For a throw in a corner or a goal kick, because you got to pay attention to that and I was paid ref, but then the linemen were volunteers, so you couldn't often trust them to pay attention because they'd be like someone's dad. No, he's usually like a sibling, like an older sibling, probably. So I had a vested interest in who won. Yeah, maybe. That's why I still had to pay attention to make sure they're, were making the right call. But you would know, like if you go to the same teams over and over again, you'd know like which ones are the good ones and you could just say like, no, you're not allowed to do it because you're not accurate or fair, and then you have to find somebody else. Yeah, I mean, obviously, like, you know, we're Compared to basketball, basketball has that too. But the court is much smaller, so I think it's just a lot less running, like, I mean, in basketball, the refs run some. But man, in soccer, those guys. Uh The refs have a hard job. I would know. I was like, really feeling for, especially in the last game, the main ref. I was like, oh, I don't want to be him right now. I think he's more stressed than anyone. Because He has to watch all around him while running and not getting in the way. Sometimes they get in the way of the ball. And then mess that up too. Indeed. So according to Docco AI. An average professional basketball player runs about 2.55 miles during a 48 minute game. OK, well, that's half of a soccer game. That's true. So how much does a soccer player run and then half that, I guess, right? I suppose so, -- but maybe -- the same then. Um, but Is a 48 minute game standard basketball game? There's, yeah, they're quarters. I don't know, it says NBA game, cause this is 48 minutes. I'm certainly not a basketball expert, as is probably readily apparent. Well, obviously I'm not either. All right, well, no, OK, I was wrong. I said for 15 minutes, it's for 12 minutes. For 12 minutes. Interesting. So, um, I was off by 3, which I guess, yeah, 4 times 12 is 48 minutes, and then that's for NBA. The NCAA does 2 20-minute halves. Oh, but here we go. Can I justify myself? Oh no, I'm not gonna, that doesn't justify me, never mind. I was gonna say high school is for. 8 minute quarters. That's even less. That's even less. So, on average, a soccer player runs 6 to 8 miles during a professional game, and it can vary because your fullbacks are gonna run in a different amount than your midfielders are gonna run a different amount than your forwards and strikers. But If you essentially AA basketball game to 5 miles. Even on the low end of soccer players running more than that and close to double that. And then that's, Assuming that they play for the entire length of the game, but then if it goes to extra time. That could be playing even longer and then they're running even more. And I did just look it up because once again, my uh memory, I'm not in this world any longer. Basketball players typically don't play an entire game. Like I was, I was surprised at how. The majority of the soccer players play the entire time, like you said, if they go to overtime, they're playing for like 120 minutes. No, yeah, yeah. Oh man, my math today, but yes, 120 minutes, that's intent. Basketball players often, uh, they'll often swap them out. There you go. All right, so, a deep dive into various rules and nuances of soccer and as well and other sports and things of that nature. So as we round out this episode, what was your favorite game of World Cup 2026? Like to watch or. But I'm glad I participated in. Well, I don't, did you, you were on the field, you were playing? No, but I mean, some games were more interesting to watch than others. And, but like our church had an event for. The first US game. And we all like watched it and ate good food and like all decked out. Like it was just a really fun day. So I think that one or like. Ambience or whatever you wanna call it, you know, I really enjoyed all that and then they have like pickup soccer games and stuff like that, that people participated in our kids did. It was really fun, you did. It was really fun to watch. So the US game, that one particularly? Yeah, I think we won too, right? I don't recall. I had to leave before it ended. That's true, but we were ahead when I left. That was good. But I mean, so yeah, that was the most fun overall experience. I really enjoyed watching. Yeah, I mean, the game, I we only watched the. Over time in Vegas, but that one was really fun. And again, part of it was, it was the atmosphere and the shootouts. I was most invested. In the US game at the end when they got out, yeah, I was rooting for Norway and then they lost. I was rooting for Switzerland and then they got out. I see. They were out pretty early though. No, they made it to the quarterfinals. Maybe they'd make it to the quarterfinals. They did better than us. That's true. So, yeah, and then after that. I think I did France and they lost. And then I was rooting for Argentina, and they lost to Spain. So I really. Did bad choosing this time. But what about you? What was your favorite games and who were you rooting for? So Yeah, I was rooting for the US, uh, so. Well, typically for Germany. Norway was one that was following that up to the very end, would have liked to see them go to the final or even win. The particular games that stand out to me were the 3rd-place match between England and France, just because that was such a strange game. Like England scored 4 goals in the very 1st half. It was like all England. France didn't seem like they even wanted to be there. And then something changed at the half. So either inspirational speech or, you know, like an offer of a bonus or something if they win. And, They played like a completely different game, and that game ended, I think 6-4 England. So it was a very high scoring game, very exciting. And that was probably my favorite game of the World Cup 2026, the. Other ones that were interesting way back in the Uh, knockout rounds were converting just because they did so well and were able to defend, and I think they finished. Didn't they finish their game with Argentina as a tie and a And also finished their Spain match as a tie. I don't know. So based on that, they should have just won because they basically tied both of the final teams. Yeah. Do some of the teams not try hard in the beginning? That is true. They kind of save their best players or they save their so that they don't get injured or anything like that, yeah. Makes sense. If you don't really have any skin in the game, if you're not gonna lose anything. Will it give you a better bracket, like, You'll get like home field advantage, I believe, so. Like you will But none of them are home. Mexico. So they could have played at home in the US and Canada, and Canada as well, right? So if they, if they won all their matches and were able to like pick their games, they would play in Canada or in Mexico. What do you think Canada and Mexico felt like? They were part of the World Cup too, right? They're hosting everything was the US, like a big US when it was the 4th of July. 250 years. President Trump was out there giving out the medals and all that. That's true. -- They really participate or -- yeah, they hosted, they had some of the, the Mexico City. One had some really good matches at the Mexico City. Yeah. We're just the real big ones, the final ones here in the state, right? Yes. OK. Miami, New York, New Jersey. So, and we're already bidding to host it next time. Oh really? That's what Mr. President Trump says, yep. So we'll see. They don't have it already lined up. It's 4 years away. I feel like they should. Um, yeah, maybe that, I think maybe it already is determined for 2030, so this would be like the next bid for 2034. I don't know. Let's check that as our final stat for this episode, see where the 2030 World Cup is. Again, a group of countries will be hosting in 2030, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. OK, how fun. It's a fun area to go to. I really enjoyed, probably my biggest thing I enjoyed about the FIFA World Cup this year. Was, I mean, our kids were into it, so that was fun to watch and obviously you really like it, so I enjoy spending time with you doing that. But I loved all the Europeans and their takeaways coming to the States. They just cracked me up all their tweets and their Instagram posts and stuff. They seem to, most of them seem to really like it. There you go. There will also be 3 matches, one held in each of the following countries, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. OK. And then 2034 will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. So if they thought it was gonna be hot in the US, I think it's gonna be pretty hot there. So maybe they'll need, you know, maybe like 5 hydration breaks a game or something. Is that where they had it last time? I feel like they had it there. Or where they did it somewhere back east in the Middle East. It was very hot in Qatar, so maybe that's what you're thinking of, right, which is why, I mean, and it was exceptionally hot. The last couple of weeks here in the States, hotter than normal, like record-breaking heat. But I don't think they could really know that for sure. I think a lot of it was water breaks that were unprecedented were more so for ads, which is such an American thing to make it. Uh, money grab. That's true. So, lots of statistics and thoughts on the World Cup and soccer in general. So if you did enjoy this episode, make sure to like, share and subscribe, and you can always send us your thoughts via text message, email, or comment on whatever platform you're listening on. And then maybe Toy Story 4 next time. We'll see if we have time to get to it. We have to watch it. We do have to watch it. And Toy Story 5, which that may be a longer thing because we don't plan on going to theaters for that. No, yeah, we need to, it needs to come to streaming first. There you go. So from your friends at I Hate Talking, until next time, remember, it is only through talking that we begin the journey to understanding.