World Cup stoppage time: Why matches are shorter in 2026

At the 2026 World Cup, the stoppage-time board is no longer met with groans. In previous tournaments, fourth officials would signal 10, 11, 12 minutes or more of added time. But in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the added time has been surprisingly low—sometimes only five or six minutes. Even factoring in the three-minute hydration break, the numbers are down. So what has changed?

Collina's war on time-wasting

FIFA referees' chief Pierluigi Collina has shifted strategy from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he instructed referees to add every second of stoppage time. In Qatar, matches averaged more than 100 minutes. At this tournament, ignoring hydration breaks, matches are clocking up around 96 minutes. “The goal we want to achieve is to increase the tempo of the match,” Collina said ahead of the finals.

Collina introduced several measures: five-second countdowns on goal-kicks and throw-ins, a 10-second clock on substitutions, and a rule forcing players who require treatment to stay off the field for one minute. The changes have been well received so far.

Do the stats show it's working?

Collina's philosophy is simple: if players stop wasting time on routine tasks, that time is returned to the game without needing to add it at the end. “The objective is to eliminate, as much as possible, the disruption of the tempo of the match,” he explained. The aim is to change behaviour—or, as Collina put it, “players will respect the limit.”

So far, that appears to be the case. Only one goal-kick has been converted to a corner—when DR Congo took too long during their 1–1 draw with Portugal on Wednesday. There have been no cases of a substitute being denied entry because the substituted player took too long to leave. Players now exit the field within 10 seconds, meaning substitutions can occur in stoppage time without extra added time.

Injuries seem fewer, and referees are quick to send players off for treatment even without a physio. The threat of playing with 10 men for at least a minute appears to be a deterrent. The video assistant referee (VAR) checking corners has not significantly impacted games, though FIFA has more video match officials and enhanced technology not available to domestic leagues. With goalkeeper tactical time-outs banned, games flow better.

Ball-in-play time: a key measure

The key metric for success is ball-in-play time. Previously, the target was 60 minutes, but that proved difficult. Even in Qatar, with all the added time, FIFA managed only 58 minutes and 3 seconds of actual football. At the 2026 World Cup, the automatic six minutes for hydration breaks has been removed, as those are not part of regular match time.

The average match length at this World Cup is 96 minutes and 8 seconds—just over six minutes of added time across both halves. In Qatar, the first round of games averaged 102 minutes 43 seconds, more than double the stoppage time. In Russia 2018, the average was 96 minutes 54 seconds, only slightly higher than this summer's edition. All three tournaments had four on-field VAR reviews.