How long is a soccer game? Extra time, penalties and regulations explained

Soccer is the world’s biggest sport with an estimated 3.5 billion fans around the world. It is safe to say that there are many unexplored areas for the sport. The potential to grow even bigger is there. With the USA set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, a lot of new audiences are tuning into the game. Find out how long are soccer games and what is extra time, injury time, and penalty shootouts in today’s article.

The USMNT and USWNT are performing incredibly on the world stage. Year after year, they are getting better. USWNT especially are multiple-time world champions. USMNT want to dominate their home World Cup in a year. They want to inspire a whole new generation to carry forward the footballing legacy. They need the backing of all the fans in their homeland and it is a must for everyone to be well versed with the basics of the game.

We will also explore how the lengths and time-based rules of soccer differ from other American sports.

How long are soccer games?

According to the 7^th law of IFAB (International Football Association Board), a game of football lasts for 90 minutes. The game is divided into two equal halves of 45 minutes each. The clock starts from zero and runs to 45 minutes in the first half. A 15-minute halftime break is mandatory for the players to get a rest.

In the second half, the clock runs from 45 minutes to 90 minutes followed by the full-time whistle. In the league phases, the games are played only for 90 minutes where draws are possible. But in knockout phases, where a result is to be determined, the game goes beyond 90 minutes into phases called Extra Time and Penalty Shootouts. We will learn about them in the later sections.

Football is played in halves instead of the usual quarters that the American fans are accustomed to. The clock also starts from zero instead of the reverse countdown. However, football fans and commentators use the quarter system in the game to describe the flow of events.

Each quarter is 22.5 minutes in a football game. The teams that dominate each quarter stand a better chance of getting the result in their favour.

What is stoppage time/injury time?

In football, the referee doesn’t bring the game to an end on hitting the 45-minute mark. The games go beyond the usual 45-minute mark in the first half and the 90-minute mark in the second half. The usual 45 minutes of a half is called regulation time.

At the end of the regulation time, the minimum additional time is determined by the referee at the end of each half. The fourth official indicates it and we call it the injury time/stoppage time. The referee takes various factors into account before deciding how much injury time is added.

A few of the key factors are any stoppages in play due to injuries, goal celebrations taking excessive time and substitutions taking longer than anticipated. VAR checks and reviews and disciplinary actions in the middle of the game all play a key role in deciding the injury time. If there are any stoppages in injury time, the referee might even take it into consideration and let the play happen beyond the added time.

The key difference between American sports and Soccer is the absence of a hooter. In Soccer, the clock is not stopped once it gets going unlike Basketball and American Football. Even if there are stoppages in play, the clock keeps running and the referee makes a note of the time wasted. Hence, injury time/stoppage time.

Stoppage time/ Injury times used to be much shorter early on. The FIFA World Cup in 2022 changed the norm as the referees were encouraged to add more minutes late on to make up for the lost time in play. The showpiece event in Qatar saw a minimum of 8-minute stoppage time added in each half to serve up a spectacle for the fans.

How long is Extra Time?

The probability of draws or ties in a game of football is very high. Not every game can be decided in 90 minutes plus stoppage time. In the league phases of any tournament or standard leagues, draws are acceptable as points are shared. But in knockout ties, a winner has to be determined as only one team can progress to the next round.

A method called Extra Time is used in knockout games to break the tie. It is a period of 30 minutes broken into two halves of 15 minutes each. The usual stoppage time/injury time applies in the Extra Time too at the end of each half.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a couple of special rules called Golden Goal and Silver Goal were used in the Extra Time. They were devised as sudden deaths that could determine the result in an instant. Golden Goal awarded the win to any side that scored first in the extra time of a game. The FIFA World Cups of 1998 and 2002 deployed this rule.

Laurent Blanc scored the first Golden Goal in the Round of 16 clash against Paraguay in 1998 in the 114^th minute. A few UEFA Champions League ties were also settled by the Golden Goal.

Silver Goal didn’t kill the game as soon as the goal was scored in the extra time. A team that scored in the extra time have to see out that half of the extra time to be determined as the winner. Suppose a team scores in the 92^nd minute of an extra time, they need to hold onto that lead. It gives a chance for the other side to mount a comeback as well.

These two rules failed to satisfy the fans as they felt it was unfair to either team. FIFA abolished these systems and reverted to the standard tiebreaker if the teams couldn’t be separated even after Extra Time. They are the Penalty Shootout. They take the players, the coaches and the fans through emotional rollercoasters.

What are Penalty Shootouts?

Penalty Shootouts are the last resort for deciding a tie. It is often called the lottery as luck plays a key role alongside skill. In the shootouts, the referee conducts a coin toss to determine the team that kicks first and the end in which the shootout takes place.

The standard rules of a penalty apply to both the taker and the goalkeeper in the shootouts. The Penalty Shootout follows a best-of-five to determine the winner. If the scores are level after 5 kicks each, we then go to a sudden death. If a winner is not decided even after 11 players take the penalties, the order resets again.

The penalty shootouts are often high stakes as each kick can change the fortunes of teams. The heartbreaks and highs are uncontrollable.

These are the major time factors in a soccer game and various tiebreakers. The usual question of how long a soccer game is answered along with touching upon a few key rules and differences that make soccer unique from an American sport.