2026 World – At the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, matches level after 90 minutes go into 30 minutes of extra time only in the knockout stages, then shift to a best-of-five penalty shootout decided by a coin toss and sudden death after the first five kicks. Alongside that, IFA
Thursday marks the start of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, and for teams in the knockout rounds, the most unforgettable moments may not even begin until the clock has already done what it always does at 90 minutes.
If the score is level when regulation ends, the match doesn’t head straight to penalties. It goes through extra time first. Then—only if the deadlock holds—penalties follow. And the way those penalties play out is built to leave no room for a “maybe” ending.
Every match is 90 minutes, split into two 45-minute halves. After each half ends, there is added time to make up for stoppages in play—such as when a player is injured or when there is a lengthy replay review, when the clock keeps running.
If the match is still tied at the end of regulation, extra time is added with 30 minutes. That extra time is divided into two 15-minute periods with a short break in between, and added time also applies to those two mini-halves.
Extra time only applies to the round of 32, round of 16, the quarterfinals, semifinals, the third-place match and the final. Group Stage matches can end in a draw.
If a match is still tied after 30 minutes of extra time, the game is decided in a best-of-five penalty shootout. Each team takes alternating shots from the penalty mark, with a coin toss determining which team kicks first.
After the teams have hit the same number of shots after their first five penalty kicks, each subsequent round becomes sudden death—if one team scores and the other doesn’t, the scoring team wins. If both hit or both miss, the penalties continue.
There’s no golden goal now, and the difference matters. The so-called golden goal was a sudden-death rule used in the 1998 World Cup hosted by France and the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea. Under that rule, whichever team scored first in extra time would win the game. The golden goal was abolished in 2004 by the International Football Association Board after negative feedback from coaches, referees and players. Some analyses have said it led to more defensive and cautious play from players too afraid to concede the game-winning goal. despite the intention of the rule to encourage more exciting play in extra time.
The 2026 tournament’s sprint toward faster restarts runs alongside those endgame rules. The IFAB approved new rules. including expanding a countdown rule to apply to throw-ins and goal kicks to help speed up the game. If the referee considers that a throw-in or goal kick is taking too long or is being deliberately delayed. the referee can initiate a five-second visual countdown.
If play is not resumed before the countdown ends, the opposing team is awarded a corner kick.
Substitutions will face tighter timing too. IFAB approved a rule stating that players being substituted out will have 10 seconds to leave the pitch once the board marking the move is shown or the referee signals the change. If a player fails to leave within the 10 seconds. they must still exit. but the substitute will not be permitted to enter until the first stoppage after one minute of play has elapsed.
There are also time rules around treatment and confrontations. Other new rules include the provision that players who receive treatment from medical staff must leave the pitch for one minute after play resumes. Players who cover their mouths during a confrontation with an opponent will be shown a red card to prevent discriminatory or offensive comments.
Red cards can come in situations that previously might have stayed procedural. Players can now receive a red card for leaving the pitch in protest of a referee’s decision or if team staff tell players to leave the pitch. If an entire team walks off the pitch in protest, they will forfeit the match.
FIFA announced last year that it would add mandatory three-minute “hydration breaks” in both halves of every match at the 2026 World Cup. Those breaks will occur 22 minutes into each half of every match. regardless of weather conditions—where previous years had a temperature threshold to trigger them.
Even the refereeing toolkit is being reshaped. In the 2026 World Cup, the usage of the video assistant referee, or VAR, has been expanded to review a number of new scenarios.
VAR was initially introduced when referees could not see an important piece of information, leading to an officiating error. Now the VAR will review to make sure corner kicks have been correctly awarded and will check for fouls committed before a corner or free kick is taken.
The VAR can also review red cards arising from an incorrect second yellow card, and when the referee issues a player a red or yellow card for an offense by a different player.
The match ball is also part of the modern push. The Adidas Trionda, the official match ball for the 2026 World Cup, is equipped with a motion sensor chip that will track the ball’s movement and send data to the VAR.
In the end, the tournament’s finale scenarios boil down to one question: when the teams are tied, what mechanism decides it—and how fast does the game get there?
For the knockout rounds, it’s 30 minutes of extra time. After that, it becomes a best-of-five penalty shootout with a coin toss for the first kick. Once both teams match through their first five kicks, the shootout turns into sudden death, where one missed moment ends the match.
Group Stage games are allowed to remain unresolved, because group matches can end in a draw.
As the World Cup begins Thursday, the rules ahead of the tension are already clear—so the drama, when it arrives, will have nowhere to hide.
2026 FIFA World Cup rules extra time tiebreakers penalties sudden death IFAB rules hydration breaks VAR expansion golden goal Adidas Trionda