Table of Contents
- So, can soccer end in a tie?
- What is a tie in soccer?
- How many points do you get for a tie in soccer?
- Which soccer games cannot end in a tie?
- What’s the highest-scoring tie in soccer history?
- What happens when there are no goals in soccer?
- Recap: Can soccer end in a tie?
Like all other sports, soccer is all about winning! Whether you play at an amateur level or professionally, or even if you’re a fan of a particular team, the most important thing is leaving the field with three points in the bag.
But what happens if there isn’t a winner after ninety minutes of action? Can soccer end in a tie? Let’s find out.
So, can soccer end in a tie?
Yes, regular season soccer matches can end in a tie, although the result of a soccer match depends on the format of the competition. For instance, a knockout soccer match cannot end in a tie, and extra time and penalties are required to decide on a winner.
So, read on to find out what you need to know about whether or not soccer games can end in a tie, and discover the different ways in which a winner can be determined.
What is a tie in soccer?
A tie – commonly known in some parts of the world as a draw – in soccer is when there is no winner or loser on the field, and both teams score an equal number of goals.
So, for instance, a tie could finish 0-0, 1-1, 2-2, or even 4-4. Fundamentally, when ninety minutes are up, and there’s nothing between the two teams in terms of goals scored, a tie is the final result.
Ties are perfectly legitimate results in most league competitions in the world, and some teams even play for a tie. After all, it’s easier to tie with a good opponent than it is to defeat them!
How many points do you get for a tie in soccer?
If you tie a soccer game, you and your opponents receive one point apiece. As you might be aware, you receive three points for a win in soccer and zero points if you lose a game.
Therefore, when you face a stronger team, a tie can be a good result, as it’s better than leaving the field empty-handed. It’s for this reason that many teams “play for a point,” which is a way of setting up to ensure that they don’t lose, first and foremost.
When a game is tied, the number of goals scored doesn’t affect how many points you receive. So, for instance, whether you draw 0-0 or 5-5, you will still receive only one point.
Which soccer games cannot end in a tie?
Regular season league matches can end in a tie because the number of points awarded to each team throughout the season contributes to their end of position place in the table. However, this is not the case in knockout competitions.
Knockout cup competitions – like the latter stages of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League – for instance, do not permit ties, and a winner must be determined before the end of the fixture.
This is because the game follows a knockout system, and there must be a winner! Following a tie in a knockout match in soccer, a period of thirty minutes of extra time is played, which is like overtime in other American sports.
Note: Don’t confuse extra time with stoppage time in soccer!
The thirty minutes of extra time are split into two equal halves of fifteen minutes, providing both teams with another thirty minutes to try and find a winner. Some tournaments in the not-so-distant past made use of the golden goal rule, but this is no longer used in professional soccer.
If the match remains a tie after the period of extra time, the teams compete in a penalty shoot-out, initially taking five penalties each before sudden death if necessary.
The winner of the penalty shoot-out is the winner of the match, and they then proceed to the next stage of the knockout competition.
What’s the highest-scoring tie in soccer history?
Although most tied soccer matches end in relatively low scoring draws – 0-0 and 1-1 are the most common results – there have been some seriously high-scoring matches in the history of the beautiful game!
In terms of club soccer, 6-6 is the highest-recorded draw on record. The first incidence of a 6-6 tie was a La Liga match between Atletico and Atletico Bilbao in 1950. In more recent times, Motherwell and Hibernian competed a pulsating 6-6 tie in 2010, with the hosts coming back from 6-2 down to record one of the most memorable ties in history!
So, while high-scoring ties aren’t overly common in soccer, they do happen and are typically some of the most exciting games for the neutral, given the end-to-end nature of the action.
What happens when there are no goals in soccer?
In stark contrast to the rarity of a 6-6 tie in soccer, a 0-0 draw is much more common. These results are commonly known as “goalless draws” and are a fairly regular occurrence in leagues all around the world.
Although they’re often boring affairs for spectators, goalless draws are part and parcel of soccer, and they are often a result of tightly fought games where both teams settle for a point.
You can find out more about what happens if there are no goals in soccer in this recent article.
Recap: Can soccer end in a tie?
So, the bottom line is that, yes, soccer games can and often do end in ties. Ties are a common part of soccer in league competitions around the world, so you may well tune into a soccer game that ends up in a tie.
However, if you’re watching a soccer game in a knockout tournament, a tie isn’t a possible result, as one team needs to win in order to progress to the next round of the competition, meaning that the teams compete in extra time and a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.