The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup kicks off on Thursday, but some of the tournament’s most memorable moments may come after the clock strikes 90 minutes and extra time.
Games can be tied at the end of regulation in the World Cup, especially at the end of a tournament with a very competitive field. At the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 overtime tie.
Here are the extra time rules and how tiebreakers work for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, along with the new rules for this year’s tournament.
Overtime, overtime and tiebreaker rules
Each game is 90 minutes, divided into two 45 minute halves. However, at the end of each half, timeouts will be added to play – such as when a player is injured, or there is a lengthy replay review – when the clock continues to run. If the game is still tied at the end of regulation, it goes into overtime with 30 minutes. This time will be divided into two 15-minute halves, with a short break in between, and extra time will be used again in those two smaller halves.
Extra time only applies to matches in the round of 32, round of 16, quarterfinals, semi-finals, third place match and final. Group stage matches can end in a draw.
If the game is still tied after 30 minutes of extra time, the game will be decided by five penalty kicks, with each team taking alternating shots from the penalty mark. A coin toss determines which team kicks first.
If the teams hit the same number of shots after the first five penalties, each subsequent round is sudden death, meaning that if one team hits the other, the hitting team wins — but if both hit or both miss, penalties continue.
Why is there no “golden goal?”
The so-called golden goal is a sudden death rule that was used in the 1998 World Cup hosted by France and the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. This rule meant that whichever team scored the first goal in overtime 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. According to some analyses, the rule led to more defensive play and more awareness from players who were too afraid to concede a game-winning goal, despite the rule’s intent to encourage more fun play in overtime.
New rules have been added to the 2026 FIFA World Cup
The IFAB has approved new rules for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, including the extension of the countdown rule that will apply to throw-ins and goal kicks to help speed up the game.
If the referee thinks that a throw-in or goal kick is taking too long or is being deliberately delayed, the referee can start a five-second visual count.
If the game is not restarted before the end of the countdown, the opposing team will be awarded a corner.
Another rule approved by the IFAB to help with the speed of the games states that players who are sent off will have 10 seconds to leave the field if the motion marking board is shown or the referee indicates a change. If a player fails to leave within 10 seconds, he must still come out, but the substitute will not be allowed in until the first stoppage after one minute of play has ended.
Other new rules include a requirement that players receiving treatment from medical staff must leave the field one minute after the restart of play. Players who cover their mouths when facing an opponent will be shown a red card to prevent racist or offensive comments.
Players can receive a red card for leaving the field against the referee’s decision or if the team staff tells the players to leave the field. If the entire team leaves the field in protest, they will lose the game.
FIFA announced last year that it would add three-minute “water breaks” to both halves of all matches at the 2026 World Cup. Half-times will take place for 22 minutes in each half of every game, regardless of the weather, and in previous years a certain temperature limit had to be met.
The role of the video assistant referee at the 2026 World Cup
For the 2026 World Cup, the use of the video assistant referee, or VAR, has been expanded to review a number of new situations. VAR was introduced for the first time when the referees did not see anything important, which led to an official error.
The VAR will now review to ensure that corners have been awarded correctly and will check for fouls committed before a corner or free kick is taken.
The VAR can also review red cards resulting from a second yellow card that is wrong, and when the referee shows a player a red or yellow card for an offense by a different player.
The Adidas Trionda, the official match ball for the 2026 World Cup, is also equipped with a motion sensor chip that will track the ball’s movement and send data to the VAR.
