What is extra time in soccer?
Getty ImagesExtra time is an additional period of play used to determine a winner when a match ends as a draw in normal time, which is the standard 90 minutes. It is pretty much exclusively used in knockout tournaments, where one team must advance to the next stage at the expense of their opponents. It consists of two periods of 15 minutes, with both halves being played in full regardless of the amount of goals that are scored in the extra period. Teams are allowed to make five substitutions during normal time but are granted an extra replacement in extra time.
When does extra time come into play at the World Cup?
Extra time will not be used in the group stages, where draws will see teams rewarded with a point each. It comes into play during the knockout stages and will be used from the last-32 stage onwards at the 2026 World Cup. If a knockout stage game is tied at the end of normal time, the two teams take a short break and then begin the period of extra time.
What happens if teams are tied after extra time is played?
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If two teams still cannot be separated after a period of extra time, the game goes to a penalty shootout. Each team takes turns taking penalties and the team with the most goals after five spot-kicks each is declared the winner. If the two sides remain level after five penalties each, sudden death is used until a winner emerges.
Extra time and penalty shootouts have been frequently used in World Cups. During the knockout stages of the 2022 edition, five of the 16 games went to extra time and all of those were eventually decided by a penalty shootout, including Argentina's triumph over France in the final.
What is the difference between extra time and added or injury time?
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Extra time is an additional period of play used when two teams are level on goals scored at the end of normal time. Added or injury time is time that is added on to the first or second half to compensate for minutes lost during a half, be it due to injuries, goal celebrations, substitutions or various technical difficulties. Added or injury time can be any amount of minutes, depending on stoppages, whereas extra time is always 15 minutes plus added time per half.
Added or injury time is also used in almost all competitive football games, whereas extra time is almost exclusively deployed in knockout tournaments.
Is extra time ever cut short?
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Previously, a tie-breaking method called 'Golden goal' was used to declare a winner during extra time. If the scores are tied at the end of normal time, the teams would go to extra time and the side that scored the first goal in that period would automatically be declared the winner of the match.
Golden goal was first used in a FIFA competition at the 1998 World Cup. Laurent Blanc's 114th-minute strike against Paraguay was the inaugural golden goal and the only occurrence of it at the tournament.
There were three more examples of it at the next competition in 2002; Henri Camara, Ahn Jung-hwan and Ilhan Mansiz struck in extra time for Senegal, South Korea and Turkey respectively to send their nations through to the next round.
FIFA first introduced the rule in 1993 but later abolished it in 2004, with many considering it to be a failed experiment. While it was meant to promote attacking football, teams would often play more defensively and target a penalty shootout to avoid defeat during extra time.
A silver goal rule was also used at points. It was similar to the golden goal but, for example, if a team scored in the first half of extra time, the game would not automatically end. Instead, they would have to maintain that lead until the first half came to an end, at which point they would be declared the winners.
Controversial extra time moments in World Cup history
Extra time has helped conjure up some of the more memorable and controversial moments in World Cup moments. England's sole triumph in 1966 was decided in extra time, with Three Lions striker Geoff Hurst putting his side ahead with an infamous 'ghost goal' ten minutes into the first additional period of play. He later scored his third to wrap up a 4-2 victory.
Zinedine Zidane produced one of the most shocking moments in elite football history when he head-butted Marco Materazzi and was sent off before France's penalty shootout defeat to Italy in 2006, while Luis Suarez was sent off for handball on the line against Ghana in 2010, helping Uruguay crawl to spot-kicks after Asamoah Gyan missed a golden opportunity from 12 yards. The South Americans ended up progressing at the Africans' expense.
With the 2026 World Cup featuring an expanded pool of 48 teams rather than the previous 32 as well as an extra knockout round, there is a greater likelihood of fans seeing more games going to extra time and penalty shootouts, increasing the chances for more late moments of glory and controversy.