How Long Is Extra Time in Football? Rules Explained
Extra time in football is 30 minutes: two halves of 15 minutes, with stoppage time added to each. Here is how it works, when it applies, and what happens next.
Extra time in football is 30 minutes long — two halves of 15 minutes each, with a short break between them but no proper half-time interval. Stoppage time is added to both halves, so 30 minutes of extra time regularly runs to 34 or 35.
If the score is still level at the end, the match goes to a penalty shootout.
Extra time at a glance
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total length | 30 minutes |
| Format | Two halves of 15 minutes |
| Break between halves | Brief, at the pitchside — not a full interval |
| Stoppage time | Added to both halves |
| Teams change ends | Yes, at the end of the first period |
| Extra substitution | One additional change permitted |
| If still level | Penalty shootout |
When extra time is played
Extra time is not automatic. It applies only where the competition rules require a winner on the day and the tie is level after 90 minutes.
It is played in:
- Knockout ties that must be decided on the day — FA Cup ties from the point replays are removed, League Cup, Champions League finals
- The second leg of a two-legged tie if the aggregate score is level after 90 minutes
- World Cup and European Championship knockout rounds, from the round of 32 onwards at the 2026 tournament
- Play-off finals
It is not played in:
- League matches. A draw is a result; the points are shared.
- Group-stage matches in tournaments.
- The first leg of a two-legged tie.
Some competitions skip extra time entirely and go straight to penalties — the Community Shield is the best-known English example.
The break between halves
This is the part most people get wrong. There is no half-time interval in extra time.
Law 7 of the Laws of the Game allows only a brief pause at the change of ends — players stay on the pitch, take on fluids, and receive instructions from the touchline. It typically lasts about a minute. The tunnel is not used.
The logic is simple: a full interval would push the total match time past two and a half hours and undo the physical toll that extra time is partly designed to impose.
Before the first period begins, however, there is a proper interval of up to five minutes after the end of normal time.
The extra substitution
Teams that have used all their permitted changes in normal time receive one additional substitution in extra time, along with an extra substitution window.
At the 2026 World Cup that means five substitutions in normal time and a sixth available if the match goes beyond 90 minutes. The same principle applies in most senior competitions that permit five changes.
This rule exists because extra time asks players to cover an extra third of a match after they are already fatigued, and the injury risk without a fresh option is significant.
What happens after extra time
If the teams are still level after 120 minutes plus stoppage time, the tie is decided by a penalty shootout:
- Each team takes five penalties, alternating.
- If one team cannot be caught, the shootout ends early — a 3-0 lead after three rounds ends it.
- If the score is level after five each, it moves to sudden death: one kick each, and the first team to score when the other misses wins.
- Every player on the pitch at the final whistle — including goalkeepers — is eligible, and teams must even up numbers if one has had a player sent off.
Golden goal and silver goal: why they are gone
Between 1993 and 2004 extra time worked differently.
- Golden goal (1993–2004): the first goal scored in extra time ended the match immediately. It decided Euro 1996 and Euro 2000.
- Silver goal (2002–2004): a team leading at the end of the first 15-minute period won.
Both were abolished by IFAB in 2004. The stated reason was that they made teams more negative rather than less: rather than pushing for the winner, sides defended in terror of conceding it. The full 30 minutes returned and has been the standard ever since.
How long is a match with extra time in total?
From kick-off to the end of a shootout, plan for around two and a half hours:
| Phase | Approx. duration |
|---|---|
| First half + stoppage | 48 min |
| Half-time | 15 min |
| Second half + stoppage | 50 min |
| Break before extra time | 5 min |
| Extra time, both halves | 34 min |
| Break at change of ends | 1 min |
| Penalty shootout | 10–15 min |
| Total | ~2h 40m |
That is why kick-off times for knockout matches are set earlier than for league fixtures, and why broadcasters schedule a long window around them.
Frequently asked questions
How long is extra time in football? Thirty minutes, split into two halves of 15 minutes, with stoppage time added to each.
Is there a half-time break in extra time? No. Teams change ends and take a brief pause on the pitch, usually about a minute. There is a five-minute interval before extra time begins.
Do teams get an extra substitution in extra time? Yes — one additional change and an extra substitution window.
What happens if it is still a draw after extra time? A penalty shootout: five kicks each, then sudden death.
Why was the golden goal abolished? IFAB removed it in 2004 because it encouraged defensive play. Teams protected against conceding rather than attacking to win.
Is extra time played in the Premier League? No. League matches end after 90 minutes plus stoppage time and a draw stands.
If you are interested in how the game’s rules reached their current form, our guide to who invented football traces the codification of the Laws from 1863 onwards.
