On this episode of Soccer Explained, we break down the basics of how a soccer game proceeds, from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, extra time, and penalty shootouts. Below is a summary of what we covered, but as always, listen to the full episode for the stories, laughs, and passion that make the beautiful game so fun! If you need a refresher on the different parts of a soccer pitch, check out the post and handy diagram from episode 2, The Soccer Pitch Explained! The Basics: Kick the Ball, Don’t Use Your Hands You probably know the big idea: soccer is the one where you try to kick the ball into the big goal, and you can’t use your hands. More precisely, you cannot intentionally touch the ball with your hands or arms. There are two exceptions: the goalkeeper can handle the ball inside the penalty area, and players throw the ball in when it goes out of bounds over the touchline. Otherwise, keep your mitts off the ball. Soccer Rarely Stops for Weather Soccer is played in just about any weather. Officials can stop games due to weather if the players are actually in danger, but that almost never happens. We talked about the 2025 Canadian Premier League championship game that was played in a blizzard, featuring an incredible bicycle kick goal that the press dubbed “the icicle kick.” How the Game Is Structured A soccer match is 90 minutes long, split into two 45-minute halves with about a 15 or 20-minute halftime. So the whole game takes roughly two hours. There’s a coin toss before the match. The winning captain chooses to either kick off or pick which goal to attack in the first half. The team that lost the coin toss does whichever option is not selected by the winner. Teams switch sides of the pitch at halftime, and whichever team didn’t kick off the first half gets to kick off the second. When Does Gameplay Stop? One thing that makes soccer unique: gameplay rarely stops, and when it does, it’s usually brief. Here are the main reasons play pauses: Throw-ins: When the ball crosses the touchline, whichever team did not touch the ball last throws it back in. You’ve probably noticed that specific two-handed, over-the-head throwing style soccer players use. They have to throw it that way; it’s the rule. Goal kicks: If the attacking team is the last to touch the ball before it crosses the goal line, the defending team restarts play with a kick from their goal area. The opposing team has to be outside the penalty box until the kick happens. Corner kicks: If the defending team touches it last before it goes over the goal line, the attacking team gets a corner kick. The ball is placed in the corner arc, and the defending team has to stand at least 10 yards away until the ball is kicked back into play. This is a tense moment because a lot of goals come off corner kicks. So you’ll see nearly every player on the field crowd around the goal to try and either score or defend. Play also stops for injuries, fouls, goal celebrations, and a few other moments that are also typically brief. The Clock and Stoppage Time Unlike football, basketball, or hockey, the clock in soccer only stops in extremely rare circumstances; certainly not for any of the gameplay stops listed above. Instead, the officials add “stoppage time,” also called “added time” or, informally, “injury time,” at the end of each half to make up for the time when gameplay stopped. Just after the 45 or 90 minute goes by, the officials announce the minimum amount of stoppage time that will be played, and the game usually runs a bit longer than that. The ref decides when to blow the final whistle and end the half. Waiting for the final whistle at the end of the match is incredibly tense if the game is tied or a team is up by only one goal. One quirky detail about the clock: during first-half stoppage time, it keeps counting past 45. But when the second half starts, it resets to 45:00. In writing, you might see first-half stoppage time noted as “45+1” instead of 46, or “45+3” instead of 48, to distinguish it from the early minutes of the second half. Second-half stoppage time just keeps going past 90:00 into the 91st minute, the 92nd, and so on. Here’s a pro tip to immediately make you sound like you watch soccer: the minute of the game is the number to the left of the colon on the clock plus one. So if the clock reads 15:37, you’re in the 16th minute, not the 15th. Getting this wrong is the soccer equivalent of calling a run in baseball a “point.” It lets soccer fans know right away that you’re not one of them. Extra Time (a.k.a. Overtime) In tournaments like the World Cup or in playoff matches, games can’t end in a draw. Someone has to win. If the score is tied after 90 minutes (plus stoppage time), the game goes to “extra time,” which is soccer’s version of overtime. Extra time consists of two 15-minute halves, so the maximum total minutes of play in the game is 120 plus stoppage time. The clock resets to 90:00 for the start of extra time. Refs can add stoppage time to extra time, but they usually don’t because everyone is running on fumes by that point. Penalty Kick Shootouts: The Most Nerve-Wracking Thing in Sports If the game is still tied after extra time, it comes down to a penalty kick shootout, which might be the single most stressful thing in any sport. What is a penalty kick (PK)? One player places the ball on the penalty spot and takes a shot at the goal with only the goalkeeper in front of them. The keeper has to keep at least one foot on or behind the goal line until the ball is kicked. The odds heavily favor the shooter, but it’s far from a guaranteed goal. What is a PK Shootout? Each team takes five penalty kicks, alternating turns. If one team is mathematically eliminated before all five rounds are done, the shootout is over. For example, if Team A makes their first three kicks and Team B misses all three, the shootout is over because Team B can’t catch up. If it’s still tied after five rounds, the shootout continues one round at a time until there’s a round where one team scores and the other does not. Think about it like extra innings in baseball. Teams choose the order of their shooters, but every player who was on the field at the end of the game has to take a shot before anyone goes twice. So if it goes long enough, you can see goalkeepers stepping up to the penalty spot, which is always entertaining. Follow Soccer Explained! Follow the show to hear one American fan who owns a soccer team, and one who works for her, explain the essentials of soccer in short, digestible episodes. We also tell stories and share our passion for the game so you can join the excitement around America’s fastest-growing sport. Credits and Contact Cohosts: Treencee Russell and Sy Hoekstra Production and editing: Sy Hoekstra Podcast Logo: Riley Quarders Theme music: Andre Louis Website: soccerexplainedpod.com Get in contact: soccerexplainedpod@gmail.com Soccer Explained website created using Podpage This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
