Can a Soccer Game End 0-0? Draws, Ties and Extra Time

Eric DawsonByEric Dawson Sports

Yes, a soccer game can end 0-0. League and group-stage matches can treat a scoreless draw as a final result, with both teams earning one point under the standard points system. In knockout competitions that require a winner, the procedure after a 0-0 scoreline depends on the competition’s format: it can include extra time and, if needed, a penalty shootout, or go directly to penalties. The competition’s format determines the outcome, not how the game was played.

Can a Soccer Game End 0-0 in Any Competition

League and group-stage matches can accept such a result as the final result. In knockout competitions requiring a winner, their rules set the procedure after regulation.

The table below compares league or group stages with the World Cup knockout format for an identical 0-0 result.

Aspect League or Group Stage Knockout Stage
0-0 result Final; match ends Not final; triggers extra time
Points awarded One point per team Winner advances, loser is eliminated
Extra time No Yes: 30 minutes in two 15-minute halves
Penalty shootout No Yes: five penalties per team, then sudden death
Substitutions allowed Regular match rules apply One additional substitution during extra time

Draws are built into league and group formats, where the standard points system awards three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss.

Is a Soccer Tie the Same as a Draw

A soccer tie is the same result as a soccer draw; the two words describe an identical outcome under different regional vocabulary. Leagues and commentators outside the United States almost always say draw, while American sports media and casual fans often say tie, borrowing the word from other US sports. Either term means the match finished with an equal score, whether that score is 0-0, 1-1, or something higher.

The scoring system stays the same no matter which word gets used. A league match called a tie on a US broadcast earns exactly the same one point per team as a match called a draw everywhere else. FIFA’s Laws of the Game use draw as the official term, so tie is a colloquial substitute rather than a separate rule or a different result on the field.

How League and Group-Stage Draws Work

League and group-stage draws work through a points system that treats a tie as a legitimate outcome rather than an unfinished match. Each side collects one point for a 0-0 result, compared with three points for a win and zero for a loss. Nobody advances or gets eliminated on the day; the draw simply gets recorded and the season continues.

This scoring format rewards defensive solidity almost as much as attacking output. A team that grinds out a scoreless draw at a difficult venue keeps pace in the standings, even without scoring a goal.

How Often Matches End 0-0

Such scoreless draws occur in professional games, with rates varying by league. Some leagues run higher: La Liga recorded 11.32 percent scoreless draws in one recent season, noticeably above the wider average.

Defensive coaching, tighter refereeing standards or a run of high-stakes matches can all push that percentage up or down within a single season.

How a 0-0 Draw Affects the League Table

A draw contributes to each team’s total. The math adds up quickly over a season: a team that draws 10 matches 0-0 instead of losing them collects 10 points instead of zero, a swing that often decides who avoids relegation or reaches continental competition.

Consider two teams that both play 38 games. One team wins 15, draws 10 and loses 13, finishing with 55 points. A rival that wins 15, draws four and loses 19 finishes with just 49 points, even though both teams won the same number of matches. Those six extra draws, worth one point each instead of zero, account for the entire six-point gap between them.

That gap matters most at the extremes of the table. A club fighting relegation often needs those draw-generated points just as much as a club chasing a title race or a spot in continental competition, since both situations can be decided by a handful of points across a 38-game season.

Since 2019, I have owned a Brother P-touch PT-D210, which I use to label the manuals drawer because apparently even paperwork needs a league table. Its little strips remind me that the three-points-for-a-win rule is clear enough, but one point for a draw still deserves respect when six extra draws create a six-point gap.

What Happens When a Knockout Match Is Tied After 90 Minutes

A knockout match tied at 0-0 after 90 minutes follows the competition’s rules for deciding a winner. In the World Cup knockout stage, the match moves into extra time. Some cup competitions skip extra time and go straight to penalties, and the choice is normally set for the tournament before it begins, though it can rarely be decided for an individual match before kick-off. Both squads get a short break before extra time starts when that procedure applies.

Coaches can use the interval to make tactical adjustments before the extra period.

Why Knockout Formats Require a Winner

Knockout formats require a winner because only one team can advance to the next round or lift the trophy, with away goals among the procedures. In a knockout competition, the rules use procedures such as away goals, extra time or a penalty shootout when a winner is needed.

Extra time and penalty shootouts are permitted procedures for deciding a drawn match when competition rules require a winner.

How Extra Time Works in Soccer

Soccer’s extra time consists of 30 minutes, split into two 15-minute halves, with a brief break between them instead of a full halftime. Teams switch ends after the first extra-time half, just as they would in regulation. Stoppage time gets added at the end of each 15-minute period to make up for delays.

How Long Extra Time Lasts

Extra time lasts 30 minutes in total. Neither half ends early for any reason, including a goal. That distinguishes the current rules from the golden-goal format used decades ago, where a single goal ended the match on the spot.

What Rule Changes Apply During Extra Time

One meaningful rule change applies during extra time: an additional substitution. Teams normally get five substitutions during regulation, and extra time adds a sixth. No golden goal or sudden-death scoring applies; both 15-minute halves play out in full even if a team takes the lead early.

What Order Do Extra Time and Penalties Happen In

The order of extra time and penalties depends on the competition’s rules. In World Cup knockout matches, a tie after 90 minutes goes to extra time first, followed by penalties if the score remains level. Some cup competitions instead skip extra time and go straight to penalties.

  1. Full time: 90 minutes of regulation play ends 0-0.
  2. First half of extra time: 15 minutes are played, plus any stoppage time.
  3. Interval: Teams switch ends with no extended break.
  4. Second half of extra time: Another 15 minutes are played, plus stoppage time.
  5. Penalty shootout: If the score is still 0-0 after 120 minutes, five players per team take alternating penalties, followed by sudden death if needed.

How a Penalty Shootout Determines the Winner

In the World Cup format, a penalty shootout determines the winner if the score is still level after 120 minutes of play. Each team takes five alternating kicks, with a different eligible player taking each kick. A coin toss selects the goal for the shootout, and another coin toss decides which team chooses to kick first or second.

If both teams make the same number of penalties after five rounds, the shootout moves into sudden death, where the teams alternate single kicks until one scores and the other misses.

Who Is Allowed to Take a Penalty

Players who are on the field at the end of the match, or temporarily off it, are eligible to take a penalty, including the goalkeeper. A player sent off during the match cannot take part, while a substitute may replace a goalkeeper who cannot continue. Once every eligible player has taken a turn, a team can repeat a kicker in sudden death.

What Happens if the Shootout Is Tied After Five Rounds

If the shootout is tied after five rounds, it continues in sudden death, one kick per team per round, until the scores separate. Players who already scored or missed in the first five rounds can be called on again, but only after everyone eligible has taken one attempt. A missed or saved penalty ends that attempt immediately; there is no rebound.

The goalkeeper must stay on the goal line between the posts until the ball is struck.

What Is the Most Famous 0-0 Result in World Cup History

The 1994 final between Brazil and Italy was played on July 17, 1994, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Regulation and extra time both ended scoreless, sending the match to a shootout, the first ever in a World Cup final.

Brazil won the shootout 3-2 after Italy’s Franco Baresi, Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio all missed their attempts. The result gave Brazil its fourth World Cup title and left the 1994 final as the only scoreless final in the tournament’s history through 120 minutes of play.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Goalkeeper Take a Penalty in a Shootout?

Yes, any eligible player can take a penalty in a shootout, and that includes the goalkeeper. The only requirement is that the player was on the field when extra time ended. Coaches rarely choose a goalkeeper as one of the first five kickers, but nothing in the rules prevents it.

Is There a Golden Goal in Extra Time?

No, there is no golden goal in extra time under the current rules. Both 15-minute halves are played to completion regardless of the score. A team that takes the lead early in extra time still has to defend it for the rest of the period.

How Many Substitutions Are Allowed in Extra Time?

Teams get one additional substitution during extra time, on top of the five allowed in regulation. That brings the total to six substitutions across a full match that reaches extra time. A team that has already used all five regular substitutions before extra time begins still gets the extra one.

What Happens if a Player Is Sent off Before a Shootout?

A player sent off before a shootout cannot take part in it, and their team does not get to replace them with a substitute for shootout purposes. That team simply has fewer eligible kickers than its opponent. Only players on the field at the final whistle of extra time, and not sent off, qualify to take a penalty.

Where Do Players Stand During a Penalty Shootout?

During a penalty shootout, all players other than the kicker and the two goalkeepers wait inside the center circle until it is their turn. The goalkeeper facing the kick must stay on the goal line between the posts, though moving side to side along that line is permitted. A coin toss decides which goal is used for every kick in the shootout.

What Is the Difference Between Extra Time and a Shootout?

Extra time is 30 additional minutes of normal play, where goals count exactly as they would in regulation and either team can win by outscoring the other. A shootout only happens if extra time ends level, and it is a separate contest of alternating penalty kicks rather than open play. Extra time can produce a winner through open-play goals; a shootout produces one through penalties alone.

A 0-0 scoreline means something different depending on where it happens. In league and group play, it is simply the final result. A knockout match treats it as only the halfway point of a process built to produce a winner, first through extra time and then, if needed, through a shootout that has decided everything from World Cup finals to weekend cup ties.

References

Sources read in September 2026.

Eric Dawson

I'm Eric Dawson, and I write The Money Watch from north Columbus, Ohio. Most of what I cover comes from my own life: renting, a 2014 Honda Fit, parking, computers, food and the bills behind all of it. I spent four years in an apartment-property office and eleven on a distributor's operations desk, reading leases and invoices. Where you need real information, I research the maker's or agency's own page and independent sources and report what they publish. I don't give tax, investment, legal or medical advice.