What breaks and stoppages are there in a World Cup match, and how long do they last?
A World Cup match has halftime (up to 15 minutes), two mandatory three-minute hydration breaks (around the 22nd and 67th minute), plus shorter stoppages for VAR, injuries and substitutions that the referee adds back as stoppage time. In knockout games, extra time adds two 15-minute halves with only a brief break, and a penalty shootout has no clock at all.
- 1Halftime lasts a maximum of 15 minutes[1]
- 2New for 2026, every match has two mandatory hydration breaks of about three minutes, around the 22nd and 67th minute — roughly six minutes in total[2]
- 3VAR reviews add time too: FIFA targets around a 25-second delay per review, and all time lost to stoppages is added back as stoppage time[3]
- 4In knockout extra time, two 15-minute halves are played with only a short drinks break (no more than one minute) between them and a brief pause before extra time starts — there is no full 15-minute interval[1]
The "90 minutes" is only the playing time; a World Cup broadcast is stitched together from several scheduled and unscheduled breaks.
What are the scheduled breaks in a normal match?
Two. Halftime is the big one, lasting up to 15 minutes between the two 45-minute halves. New for 2026, the referee also calls a roughly three-minute hydration break midway through each half — around the 22nd and 67th minute — so every game has about six minutes of planned drinks time.
How long do VAR reviews and other stoppages take?
They vary, but they're tracked. FIFA aims for around a 25-second delay on a typical VAR review, while injuries, substitutions and goal celebrations each eat their own seconds. Crucially, none of it shortens the game: the referee adds every lost second back as stoppage time at the end of each half.
What about the breaks in extra time?
In the knockouts, a tied game after 90 minutes goes to extra time: two halves of 15 minutes. But the breaks shrink — there's only a brief pause between the end of 90 minutes and the start of extra time, and a drinks break of no more than one minute between the two extra-time halves. There is no second full halftime.
Is there a pause before penalties?
Yes, a short organizational one. If extra time ends level, players gather at the center circle while the referee tosses a coin to choose the goal and which team kicks first. The shootout itself is not timed — it simply runs through the kicks until one team wins.
American sports schedule their breaks openly — a long halftime, quarter breaks, TV timeouts — and the clock stops for all of them. Soccer hides most of its stoppages inside a running clock and pays them back as added time, so a "90-minute" game often runs past 100. The 2026 hydration breaks are the closest thing soccer has to the NFL's two-minute-warning-style scheduled pause.
Key Takeaways
- A normal match has halftime (up to 15 minutes) and two roughly three-minute hydration breaks, plus VAR and other stoppages that are added back as stoppage time.
- Extra time adds two 15-minute halves with only a one-minute drinks break between them, and the penalty shootout that may follow has no clock.
- IFAB — Law 7: The Duration of the Match(accessed 2026-06-24)
- FOX Sports — Ultimate World Cup Rules Guide: Tiebreakers, VAR, Cooling Breaks and More(accessed 2026-06-24)
- AOL / PA — VAR, time-wasting and subs: World Cup law changes explained(accessed 2026-06-24)