Winning a World Cup final means a player must have played a minimum of 630 minutes in seven games, not counting possible overtime periods.
It takes great stamina, durability and resolves to reach the end of regulation time in a World Cup final, but what if the game is tied after 90 minutes?
In some cases, it has taken extra time for a World Cup winner to emerge, and some required a penalty shootout. Let’s take a look at all the times a World Cup final was decided in extra time:
WHAT IS EXTRA TIME IN SOCCER?
In case a match is tied after 90 minutes, two 15-minute halves called extra time are played. It gives teams more time to try to win the game. In the World Cup, extra time is used in the knockout stages because ties are not allowed after the group stage contests.
WHAT IS A GOLDEN GOAL?
A golden goal is similar to scoring a touchdown in an NFL overtime period. If a goal is scored at any time during overtime, the game ends and the team that scores the goal wins. The World Cup began using the golden goal rule in 1998, but it was abolished in 2006.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A SOCCER MATCH IS STILL TIED AFTER EXTRA TIME?
If no goals are scored after the additional 30 minutes, the game goes to a penalty shootout.
HOW MANY TIMES HAS THE WORLD CUP FINAL BEEN DECIDED IN EXTRA TIME?
Of the 21 World Cup finals, seven went to extra time. Two of the seven required a penalty shootout. Here is a list of the seven 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 90 minutes and extra time)
2006: Italy 5 – 3 France on penalty shootout (0-0 after 90 minutes and extra time)
2010: Spain 1 – 0 Netherlands (0-0 after 90 minutes)
2014: Germany 1 – 0 Argentina (0-0 after 90 minutes)
