Extra Time in Cup Football: How Total Goals and Qualification Markets Are Settled

Knockout football is where betting rules can trip people up: a match can finish 1–1 after 90 minutes, then swing wildly in extra time, or go to penalties. The key is knowing what your market counts (90 minutes only, or 120 minutes, or penalties), and how “qualification” is decided when the teams are still level after regular time.

Extra time basics: what changes after 90 minutes

In most cup competitions, if the score is level after 90 minutes (plus stoppage time), the match can move to extra time: two periods of 15 minutes, with a short break between them. The scoreboard keeps running, so goals in extra time add to the match score. From a sporting perspective, the winner is the team leading after 120 minutes; only if it’s still level do penalties decide who goes through.

That sporting logic matters because bookmakers mirror it in different ways. Some bets are explicitly “90 minutes only” (often labelled “Regular Time”, “90 mins”, or “Including stoppage time”). Others are “to lift the trophy / to qualify” or “including extra time and penalties”. Two bets can look similar in the bet slip, yet be settled under totally different time frames.

Also, cup formats vary. Some ties use two legs, and the “score after 90 minutes” of the second leg is not the same thing as “who qualifies” on aggregate. Away goals have been removed in many major competitions, but not everywhere, so it’s still worth checking whether a tournament uses it. When rules differ, market settlement can differ too.

Where bettors most often get caught out

The most common misunderstanding is assuming “Match Result” always means “who qualifies”. In many books, standard 1X2 is a 90-minute market: home win, draw, away win after regular time (plus stoppage time). If the match goes to extra time and the away side wins 2–1 after 120 minutes, the 90-minute 1X2 may still be settled as “draw”.

The second trap is totals. People see Over 2.5, the match is 1–1 at 90 minutes, and they assume the bet is “alive” in extra time. That is only true if the market is explicitly for 120 minutes. In many places, the default total goals market for a single match is settled on 90 minutes only, unless it’s clearly marked as including extra time.

The third trap is penalties. Penalty shoot-outs decide qualification, but they are usually not counted as “goals” for totals, correct score, or player goal markets. A shoot-out win like 4–3 on penalties is typically recorded as a 1–1 draw for goal-based markets, with qualification settled separately. Books are usually consistent here, but the labels on the bet matter.

Total goals markets: 90 minutes vs 120 minutes

Totals are the markets where the time-frame label is everything. A “Total Goals (90 mins)” market counts goals scored in regular time plus stoppage time, and stops there. If it ends 1–1 after 90 minutes, Under 2.5 is a winner and Over 2.5 is a loser, even if the match finishes 3–1 after extra time.

A “Total Goals (Including extra time)” market counts goals across the full 120 minutes, but still usually excludes penalties as goals. In that version, a match that is 1–1 after 90 minutes can still land Over 2.5 if a goal arrives in extra time. This is why the same line (Over/Under 2.5) can be priced differently depending on whether extra time is included.

Some books offer separate extra-time totals (only goals scored in extra time), or totals for a specific period (first half, second half). Those are less ambiguous: the market name typically states the segment. If the market name is short and generic, assume it is a 90-minute settlement unless it clearly says otherwise.

Worked examples for totals (common settlement patterns)

Example 1: The match is 0–0 after 90 minutes, then finishes 1–0 after extra time. A standard Over/Under 0.5 total that is 90 minutes only is settled as Under 0.5 (winning), because no goal was scored in regular time. The 120-minute version is settled as Over 0.5 (winning), because the extra-time goal counts.

Example 2: The match is 2–0 after 90 minutes and finishes 2–0 after extra time, then the home team wins on penalties. Any 90-minute total is already settled at 2 goals. Any 120-minute total is also 2 goals. The shoot-out changes qualification, not the goal count for totals.

Example 3: The match is 1–1 after 90 minutes, finishes 2–2 after extra time, then penalties decide. For totals that include extra time, the total goals is 4. For totals that are 90 minutes only, the total goals is 2. Penalties normally do not add to the goal total, even though the match has a definitive “winner” for the trophy.

Qualification markets: “To qualify” vs match result

Qualification (sometimes “To qualify”, “To advance”, “To reach next round”) is designed for knockout ties. This market cares only about who progresses, regardless of whether it happens in 90 minutes, extra time, or penalties. If your bet is “Team A to qualify”, it wins if Team A goes through by any method.

That is not the same as the regular-time 1X2 market. In a classic scenario, a match is 1–1 after 90 minutes, Team B wins 2–1 after extra time, and Team B qualifies. The 90-minute 1X2 is settled as “draw”, while “Team B to qualify” is settled as a win.

In two-legged ties, qualification is usually based on aggregate score across both matches, then extra time and penalties if needed (depending on the competition rules). Here again, a team can “win the match” on the night but still fail to qualify on aggregate, or draw the match and qualify. These details are exactly why qualification markets exist.

How books usually treat extra time and penalties in qualification bets

For “To qualify” bets, extra time and penalties are part of the same question: who advances. If the teams are level after 120 minutes and a shoot-out decides it, the qualifying team is the winner for this market. That’s the simplest settlement you will see in cup betting, and it matches how the tournament itself progresses.

Be careful with similarly named markets like “To win the match” or “Match winner”. Some operators use “match winner” to mean “including extra time and penalties”, offering only two selections (no draw). Others keep “match result” as a 3-way 90-minute market and label the 2-way market differently. The safest approach is to look for the settlement note: “90 minutes” vs “including extra time and penalties”.

Finally, note that some specials are explicitly “penalties only” (for example, “Will there be a penalty shoot-out?” or “Team to win on penalties”). Those are not the same as qualifying. A team can qualify in extra time without penalties, so a “penalties” bet can lose even when your preferred team goes through.