Germany vs. Paraguay has set the record for longest match of this World Cup tournament, as the two sides are heading to penalty kicks after playing two 15-minute halves of extra time, and remain level at 1-1. The teams have so far played a total of 120 minutes plus stoppage time. (The France vs. Iraq match on June 22 lasted nearly four hours in total elapsed time, but that was due to 131 minutes of match delays due to severe weather.)
FIFA rules dictate that matches in the knockout round must produce a winner, and no draws are allowed. There is no golden goal in this format.
In the penalty round, each side takes five penalties, alternating kicks. The team with more goals after five rounds wins. If the match remains tied, it moves to sudden death, in which each team takes one kick per round. If one team scores in the round, and the other misses, the game ends and a winner is crowned.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Is Germany vs. Paraguay the longest match of the 2026 World Cup?