Winning a World Cup final means a player must’ve played a minimum of 630 minutes across seven games, not counting any potential extra time periods.
It takes immense stamina, durability and resolve to make it to the end of regulation of a World Cup final, but what if the game is tied after 90 minutes?
In some cases, extra time has been needed in order for a World Cup winner to emerge, with some requiring a penalty shootout. Let’s take a look back at all the times a World Cup final was decided in extra time:
What is extra time in soccer?
In the event a game is tied after 90 minutes, there are two 15-minute halves played afterwards called extra time. It gives teams more time to try to win the game. In the World Cup, extra time is used in the knockout stages because there are no ties allowed after group-stage contests.
What is a golden goal?
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A golden goal is similar to scoring a touchdown in an NFL overtime period. If a goal is scored at any point during extra time under golden goal, the game is over and the goal-scoring team wins. The World Cup started to use the golden goal rule in 1998, but it was abolished in 2006.
What happens if a soccer game is still tied after extra time?
If there are no goals scored after the extra 30 minutes, the game goes to a penalty shootout.
How many times has the World Cup final been decided in extra time?
Out of the 22 World Cup finals, eight went to extra time. Three of the eight required a penalty shootout. Here’s a list of all eight contests:
- 1934: Italy 2 – 1 Czechoslovakia (1-1 after 90 minutes)
- 1966: England 4 – 2 West Germany (2-2 after 90 minutes)
- 1978: Argentina 3 – 1 Netherlands (1-1 after 90 minutes)
- 1994: Brazil 3 – 2 Italy in a penalty shootout (0-0 after extra time)
- 2006: Italy 5 – 3 France in a penalty shootout (1-1 extra time)
- 2010: Spain 1 – 0 Netherlands (0-0 after 90 minutes)
- 2014: Germany 1 – 0 Argentina (0-0 after 90 minutes)
- 2022: Argentina 4 – 2 France in a penalty shootout (3-3 after extra time)
