How Extra Time and Penalty Shootouts Work at the World Cup 2026

June 16, 2026 \u00b7 10 min read

The scoreboard reads 1-1 after 90 minutes. Fifty thousand fans hold their breath. The fourth official raises the board: three minutes of added time, then 30 more minutes of football nobody planned for. Extra time and penalty shootouts have decided some of the most iconic moments in World Cup history \u2014 and at the 2026 tournament, the stakes are higher than ever.

The 120-Minute Match: How Extra Time Works

When a knockout-stage match ends in a draw after 90 minutes of regular play plus stoppage time, the game moves into extra time. This is not the same as \u201cadded time\u201d or \u201cinjury time\u201d \u2014 those are the minutes the referee adds to compensate for stoppages during normal play. Extra time is an entirely separate phase of the match.

Extra time consists of two 15-minute periods, totaling 30 minutes. Teams play both periods in full, regardless of how many goals are scored. There is a short break of roughly five minutes between the end of normal time and the start of extra time, during which players receive tactical instructions and can hydrate. Teams also switch ends between the two extra-time periods.

The format is straightforward: if one team leads after the full 120 minutes, they win. If the score remains level, the match goes to a penalty shootout. The result is recorded with the abbreviation \u201ca.e.t.\u201d (after extra time) to distinguish it from a result decided within 90 minutes.

The Substitution Advantage

One of the most consequential rule changes in recent years affects what happens on the bench during extra time. Under current regulations, teams are allowed a maximum of five substitutions during normal time, taken across three stoppage opportunities. When a match goes to extra time, teams receive a sixth substitution and a fourth opportunity to make changes.

This rule has transformed extra time from a war of attrition into a tactical chess match. Managers who time their substitutions well \u2014 holding fresh legs for the 100th minute rather than burning them at the 70th \u2014 gain a significant edge. A tired defense facing a fresh attacker is one of the most common scenarios that decides extra-time matches.

Additionally, a separate concussion substitution is available beyond normal limits, ensuring player safety is never sacrificed for competitive advantage.

From Golden Goal to Full 30 Minutes: A Brief History

The current format of playing both extra-time periods in full was not always the standard. For over a decade, FIFA experimented with two alternative rules designed to produce more attacking football and reduce the number of penalty shootouts.

The Golden Goal (1993\u20132004) \u2014 Introduced formally by FIFA in 1993, the golden goal rule meant that the first team to score in extra time won the match immediately. The term was chosen because \u201csudden death\u201d was considered too negative for a sport watched by billions. The intention was noble: force teams to attack rather than sit back.

The reality was the opposite. Teams became more cautious, terrified of conceding a goal that would end their tournament in an instant. The most famous golden goal in World Cup history came in 1998, when Laurent Blanc scored to send France past Paraguay in the Round of 16. David Trezeguet\u2019s golden goal in the Euro 2000 final \u2014 giving France both the World Cup and European Championship \u2014 remains one of the most celebrated moments in French football. The last golden goal at a men\u2019s World Cup was \u0130lhan Mans\u0131z\u2019s strike for Turkey against Senegal in the 2002 quarter-final.

The Silver Goal (2002\u20132004) \u2014 UEFA introduced the silver goal as a compromise. If a team led after the first 15-minute period of extra time, they won \u2014 but the game did not stop instantly upon scoring. The only major competitive match ever decided by a silver goal was the Euro 2004 semi-final between Greece and the Czech Republic. Traianos Dellas scored in the dying seconds of the first period, sending Greece to the final in one of football\u2019s great upsets.

In February 2004, IFAB (the International Football Association Board) announced that both the golden goal and silver goal would be removed from the Laws of the Game. Since the 2006 World Cup, every knockout match has used the current format: play both 15-minute periods in full, then penalties if needed.

The Penalty Shootout: Step by Step

If the score is still level after 120 minutes, the match is decided by a penalty shootout \u2014 the most nerve-wracking 10 minutes in sport. Here is exactly how it works:

1. Coin toss: The referee flips a coin to decide which goal the kicks are taken at, then flips again to determine which team kicks first.
2. Five rounds: Each team selects five different players to take penalties from the penalty mark, 12 yards (11 meters) from the goal line.
3. Alternating kicks: Teams take turns, one kick each. Team A, then Team B, and so on for five rounds.
4. Goalkeeper rules: The goalkeeper must keep at least one foot on the goal line until the ball is struck. They may jump, wave their arms, and move sideways along the line.
5. One touch only: The kicker may touch the ball once. No rebounds, no follow-up plays.
6. Sudden death: If the scores are level after five kicks each, the shootout moves to sudden death \u2014 one kick per team per round until one scores and the other misses.
7. Early termination: The shootout ends as soon as one team has an insurmountable lead. In the 2006 World Cup final, the shootout concluded after Italy\u2019s fifth kick because France could no longer equalize.
8. Eligible players: Only players on the pitch at the end of extra time (or temporarily off the pitch for treatment) may take penalties. No player may take a second kick until every eligible teammate has taken their first.

The Psychology Behind the Penalty Spot

A penalty shootout is often called a \u201clottery,\u201d but the research tells a different story. There are measurable, repeatable patterns that separate teams that win shootouts from teams that lose them.

Does Kicking First Matter?

The most debated question in shootout research is whether the team that kicks first has an advantage. Economist Ignacio Palacios-Huerta\u2019s influential study found that the first-kicking team wins roughly 60 percent of the time, suggesting a real psychological edge. However, a larger InStat analysis of over 2,000 shootouts found the advantage dropped to 51.48 percent \u2014 barely above a coin flip. A 2024 study of European football found no statistically significant first-mover advantage at all.

The debate led IFAB to trial the ABBA format in 2017, mirroring the serving sequence in a tennis tiebreak. Instead of the traditional AB-AB-AB pattern, teams would kick in an AB-BA-AB-BA sequence. It was tested at the 2017 UEFA Under-17 Championships and the FA Community Shield. By November 2018, IFAB dropped the experiment, citing \u201clack of strong support\u201d and confusion among players and fans.

Goalkeeper Behavior Under Pressure

A 2011 study published in Psychological Science revealed a fascinating pattern: goalkeepers dive to the right 71 percent of the time when their team is trailing, but only 48 percent when their team is ahead. Researchers linked this to a broader behavioral bias in social mammals toward right-dominant actions when under stress.

The same body of research found that goalkeeper distraction tactics \u2014 such as delaying the kick, moving along the line, or making gestures \u2014 are linked to roughly 10 percent fewer goals scored. More aggressive delay tactics correlate with a 20 percent reduction in conversion rates. These are not trivial numbers. In a five-kick shootout, they can decide a World Cup.

England\u2019s Long Nightmares

No discussion of shootout psychology is complete without England. Before the 2018 World Cup, England had lost seven of ten major-tournament shootouts, including defeats to Germany (1990 World Cup semi-final, Euro 96), Argentina (1998 World Cup), Portugal (Euro 2004, 2006 World Cup), and Italy (Euro 2012, Euro 2020 final). The 2018 victory over Colombia was a watershed moment \u2014 proof that shootout performance can be trained, not just inherited.

Famous World Cup Shootouts That Defined Eras

Some shootouts have become part of football folklore. Here are the ones every fan should know:

• 1982 Semi-Final: West Germany 5\u20134 France \u2014 The first-ever World Cup shootout, and it went to sudden death. Germany prevailed after six rounds each, in one of the greatest matches ever played.
• 1994 Final: Brazil 3\u20132 Italy \u2014 The first World Cup final decided by penalties. Roberto Baggio\u2019s infamous miss over the bar became the defining image of heartbreak in football.
• 2006 Final: Italy 5\u20133 France \u2014 After Zinedine Zidane\u2019s red card for headbutting Marco Materazzi, Italy held their nerve. Fabio Grosso scored the decisive fifth kick. David Trezeguet\u2019s miss hit the crossbar \u2014 the same player who had scored a golden goal six years earlier in the Euro 2000 final.
• 2022 Final: Argentina 4\u20132 France \u2014 After a 3-3 classic that included a Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 hat trick, Argentina won the shootout when Gonzalo Montiel converted the decisive penalty. It gave Lionel Messi the one trophy that had eluded him.
• 2006 Round of 16: Ukraine 3\u20130 Switzerland \u2014 Switzerland became the first team eliminated from a World Cup via shootout without conceding a single goal in the entire tournament.

Records and Numbers That Boggle the Mind

The penalty shootout has produced some extraordinary statistical records:

• Longest shootout ever: 56 penalties \u2014 F.C. Dimona beat Shimshon Tel Aviv 23\u201322 in the 2023\u201324 Israeli Liga Alef season.
• Longest World Cup shootout: 20 penalties \u2014 Australia beat France 7\u20136 at the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup.
• Most consecutive penalties scored: 31 in a Vertu Trophy match between Blackpool and Aston Villa U21s in December 2024.
• Shortest possible shootout: Three kicks each \u2014 Chile beat Portugal 3\u20130 at the 2017 Confederations Cup.
• Highest-scoring shootout: Ivory Coast beat Cameroon 12\u201311 (24 penalties total) at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, with Samuel Eto\u2019o taking the only miss.

Why This Matters for Your Predictions

Understanding extra time and shootouts is not just trivia \u2014 it is a prediction edge. When you are making knockout-stage picks on FanPick, consider these factors:

• Squad depth matters more in 2026: With 26-player squads and a sixth substitution available in extra time, teams with deeper benches have a structural advantage in the later rounds.
• Historical penalty records are predictive: Teams like Germany and Argentina have historically strong shootout records. England\u2019s record improved after 2018, but the scars remain.
• Goalkeeper quality is amplified: A goalkeeper who studies opponents\u2019 penalty tendencies is worth more in knockout football than in any other context. Emiliano Mart\u00ednez\u2019s antics in the 2022 final were not random \u2014 they were calculated disruption.
• Fatigue curves favor the prepared: Teams that manage their energy across 120 minutes \u2014 through tactical substitutions and controlled tempo \u2014 consistently outperform those who sprint through extra time.

Key Takeaways

• Extra time is two 15-minute periods played in full, with no golden goal or silver goal rules since 2006.
• Teams get a sixth substitution and a fourth substitution opportunity in extra time, making squad depth a decisive factor.
• The penalty shootout follows a strict five-round format with sudden death if level, and only players on the pitch at the end of extra time may participate.
• Research shows goalkeeper behavior changes under pressure \u2014 they dive right more often when losing, and distraction tactics reduce conversion rates by up to 20 percent.
• England lost 7 of 10 major-tournament shootouts before 2018, proving that shootout performance is a trainable skill, not a genetic trait.
• The ABBA format was trialed in 2017 to address first-kicker advantage but was abandoned within 18 months due to complexity.