A draw after 90 minutes is not the end
When a World Cup final is level after normal time, the match moves to extra time. That consists of two equal 15-minute periods. The full extra-time period is played even if a team scores in the first half because football no longer uses a golden-goal ending for the World Cup final.
The 2026 final followed that path after Spain and Argentina finished normal time at 0-0. Ferran Torres scored for Spain in the 106th minute, during the second period of extra time, and Spain protected the 1-0 lead until the final whistle. No penalty shoot-out was needed.
Teams can make changes around extra time
The Laws of the Game allow substitutions between the end of normal time and the start of extra time, and again at the extra-time interval. Those moments do not themselves use one of a team's limited substitution opportunities because play has not resumed.
The number of players who may be replaced depends on the competition rules. Some competitions permit an additional substitute in extra time. Coaches therefore have to manage both the number of available players and the permitted occasions for making changes.
If extra time is level, the match ends before the kicks begin
A penalty shoot-out takes place after the match has ended. That legal distinction explains several rules that surprise viewers. Players eligible to take kicks are generally those on the field, or temporarily off it for a valid reason, when extra time finishes.
A normal outfield substitution cannot be completed after the final whistle simply because a team had an unused substitute. An exception can allow an injured goalkeeper to be replaced, subject to the competition's substitution rules.
The referee uses two coin tosses
Before the kicks, the referee normally tosses a coin to determine which goal will be used. A second toss lets the winning team choose whether to take the first or second kick. Safety, the condition of the surface or other circumstances can justify choosing or changing the goal without the usual toss.
The teams then alternate kicks. Each has five unless the result becomes mathematically certain earlier. If the scores remain level after both sides have taken five, the shoot-out continues one kick per team until one scores and the other misses in the same round.
Both teams must begin with equal numbers
If one team finishes the match with more players than the other, it must reduce its eligible group to the same number before the shoot-out. This prevents the team with fewer players from reaching its strongest kicker again sooner in the rotation.
Every eligible player must take a kick before any teammate takes a second one. The referee does not need to receive a fixed kicking order in advance, so a team may adjust the order when the sequence begins again.
Yellow cards reset, but discipline does not disappear
Cautions issued during normal time or extra time do not carry forward into the penalty shoot-out. A player booked during the match is therefore not sent off merely for receiving a first shoot-out caution. The two cautions are still recorded separately.
Direct red cards and misconduct during the shoot-out still matter. A player can be sent off, and the other team may then have to remove one eligible kicker to keep the numbers equal. Penalties are dramatic, but they are not an unregulated lottery.
Sources and further reading
This article was written for Curiosity Desk. We do not copy other publishers or invent quotes. If a material error is found, we correct it openly.
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