The 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup gets underway Thursday, but some of the tournament's most memorable moments may come after the clock hits 90 minutes and extra time is added.
Games are likely to be tied at the end of regulation at the World Cup, especially in the late stages of the tournament with a highly competitive field. At the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup, Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in extra time.
Here are the rules for extra time and how tiebreakers work at the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, plus the new rules for this year's tournament.
Added time, extra time and tiebreaker rules
Each match is 90 minutes, split into two 45-minute halves. At the end of each half, however, there will be added time to make up for stoppages in play — such as when a player is injured, or there is a lengthy replay review — when the clock keeps running. If a match is still tied at the end of regulation, it goes into extra time with 30 minutes added. This time will be divided into two 15-minute periods, with a short break in between, and added time also applied to those two mini-halves.
Extra time only applies to the games in the round of 32, round of 16, the quarterfinals, semifinals, 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 will be decided in a best-of-five penalty shootout, with each team taking alternating shots from the penalty mark. A coin toss determines which team kicks first.
If the teams have hit the same number of shots after their first five penalty kicks, each subsequent round becomes sudden death, meaning if one team scores and the other doesn't, the scoring team wins — but if both hit or both miss, the penalties continue.
Why is there no "golden goal?"
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. The rule meant that 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. According to some analyses, the rule 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.
New rules added for the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup
The IFAB approved new rules for the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, 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 will be awarded a corner kick.
Another rule approved by the IFAB to help with the pace of the games states 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.
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.
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 it would add mandatory three-minute "hydration breaks" in both halves of every match at the 2026 World Cup. The breaks will occur 22 minutes into each half of every match, regardless of weather conditions, whereas in previous years a certain temperature threshold had to be met.
The video assistant referee's role in the 2026 World Cup
In the 2026 World Cup, usage of the video assistant referee, or VAR, has been expanded to review a number of new scenarios. The VAR was initially introduced when referees could not see an important piece of information, leading to an officiating error.
The VAR will now 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 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.
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Key USMNT players to watch for
Key U.S. players to watch for the 2026 World Cup
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