What is extra time in soccer?

Extra time is two extra 15-minute halves added to a knockout match if the score is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. If still tied after extra time, the match goes to a penalty shootout.

The 30-second version

• Used only in knockouts. Group stage games can end in a draw. Knockouts must produce a winner.
• Two halves of 15 minutes, with a short break between them.
• Not sudden death. Both halves are always played in full, no matter the score.
• Penalty shootout if it's still tied at the end.

When it happens in a match

Imagine a Round of 16 game. The 90 minutes finish 1–1. The referee blows for stoppage time of about 5 minutes. Still 1–1. Now extra time begins.

• First period: 15 minutes.
• Break: ~5 minutes.
• Second period: 15 minutes, plus its own stoppage time.

If somebody scores and the other team can't respond, the match ends as soon as the second 15-minute period finishes. If neither team can break the tie — say the score is still 1–1, or 2–2 — the referee whistles for full time and the players head to the penalty spot.

Substitutions in extra time

Most modern tournaments give teams an extra substitution slot that becomes available only when extra time begins. The reasoning: 30 more minutes of play, in heat and after pre-existing fatigue, is brutal. Teams need fresh legs.

At the 2026 World Cup the rule is 5 substitutions during regulation plus 1 additional sub during extra time. Substitution windows still apply (one extra window opens for that bonus sub).

A simple example

A semi-final ends 2–2 after 90 minutes plus 6 minutes of stoppage. Extra time begins.

• 94'–105' (first ET half): nothing changes. 2–2.
• 5-minute break.
• 108'–123' (second ET half): in the 119th minute, a substitute scores. Score is now 3–2.
• 123'+ (stoppage of ET): one minute added. The losing team can't equalise. Final whistle.

Final score: 3–2 after extra time. The team scoring third goes through.

The history of golden goal

From 1993 to 2004, soccer experimented with golden goal — the first team to score in extra time won the match instantly. France beat Paraguay with a golden goal at the 1998 World Cup. Germany beat the Czech Republic with one in Euro 1996.

The rule was scrapped because it made teams too cautious. Both sides treated extra time like a single conceded goal would end them, so they sat back and waited for penalties. Modern extra time is played in full to encourage a winner during the 30 minutes.

There was also a silver goal rule briefly: whoever was leading at the end of the first ET period won. It lasted barely two years.

Common confusion

• "Why are they still playing? They scored already." — Both halves of extra time always finish. No sudden death.
• "It went to penalties because of extra time." — Penalties only happen if extra time also ends tied. Extra time itself produces a winner about half the time at major tournaments.
• "Extra time is the same as stoppage time." — No. Stoppage time is the added minutes at the end of every half to make up for stoppages. Extra time is two extra periods only used in tied knockouts.

What fans usually get wrong

• Extra time runs the full 30 minutes, not until a goal.
• Yellow cards from regulation carry over into extra time. A player on a yellow can still get a second yellow → red in extra time.
• Substitutions in extra time count against your tournament suspension rules — a player subbed off in ET is still off.

Official rule basis

Extra time is allowed under Law 7 of the IFAB Laws of the Game. The exact format — when it's used, how many subs, etc. — is set by the competition's regulations. FIFA Tournament Regulations specify it for the World Cup; UEFA, CONMEBOL, and the various confederations set their own rules for their tournaments.