World Cup 2026: Knockout round extra time and substitute rules

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has reached the knockout rounds.

With an expanded field to 48 teams, that means that the knockout stage begins with a Round of 32, as the field will narrow over the next few weeks down to the final two teams.

And with the knockout round upon us, it also means a few more rules to know.

Here are the extra time rules, and the substitution rules, for the knockout rounds of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

As we saw during the group stage of the World Cup, matches could end in a draw.

That changes now that we have reached the knockout rounds.

As such, matches that remain tied following the full 90 minutes -- and any stoppage time added at the end of the second half -- will advance to extra time.

In the knockout rounds, there are 30 minutes of extra time added, consisting of two 15-minute halves. As with the regulation period of the match, there will be potential stoppage time added at the end of each 15-minute half.

This also means that there is no “Golden Goal.” If a team scores early in the first half of extra time, the full 30-minutes will be played, plus any additional stoppage time that is added at the end of each extra half.

If the match remains level at the end of the extra time, the match will go to penalties. Five players from each side alternate taking penalty kicks. If the match remains tied after the first five penalties, then the penalty shootout becomes “sudden death,” meaning the first team to score with a penalty when the opponent does not wins the match.

As we saw during the group stage, each team is given five substitutes during a match.

But if a match heads to extra time, additional substitutions are possible.

If a team has not used the maximum of substitutes and/or substitution opportunities, any unused substitutes or substitution opportunities carry over to extra time and may be used. In addition, teams may use one additional substitute (whether or not they have used the maximum number of five allowed substitutes) and gain an additional substitution (whether or not they have used the maximum number of three substitution opportunities).

Regarding substitution opportunities, FIFA increased the number of allowed substitutes from three to five during the COVID-19 pandemic, and decided to keep that number for all future competitions. However, in a move to keep the same pace of play, FIFA implemented the idea of “substitution opportunities,” keeping that number at three.

This means that teams can only stop play three times during a match to bring substitutes onto the pitch.

There are some caveats to this number. First, where both teams make substitutions at the same time, this counts as a used substitution opportunity for each team. Second, substitutes made at halftime do not count as a substitution opportunity.

As noted above, when a match goes into extra time, teams are given an additional substitution, regardless of whether they have already used their allotted three or not. As with regular time, if both teams make a substitution at the same time during extra time, it counts as a used substitution opportunity for both sides.

Any substitutions made in the short window between the end of regular time, and the start of extra time, do not count as a used substitution opportunity. In addition, any substitutions made during the halftime break during extra time do not count as a used substitution opportunity.