Silver goal is a method used in association football to decide the result of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of the ordinary time. A fifteen-minute extra time period is played, and if either team is leading at the conclusion of that period that team wins the match. If the scores are level, another fifteen-minute period is played. If the scores are level after two periods of extra time, a penalty shootout decides the game.

The silver goal rules were proposed to the IFAB in 2002 by UEFA to supplement the golden goal rules introduced in 1994. In extra time, a team leading after the first fifteen minute period would win; the game would no longer stop the instant a team scored as with the golden goal rule. This change was decided after golden goal victories led to some ugly behaviour from the losing teams. The golden goal was also seen as putting excessive pressure on the referee. While it was introduced with the intention of stimulating the offensive flair of the teams, this rarely happened as the danger of conceding a goal from an opposition counter attack made teams reluctant to take risks.

The golden goal was not removed from the Laws of the Game, and as with when the golden goal was introduced, the silver goal was not made compulsory. Competitions operating extra time were able to use the golden goal, the silver goal, or neither procedure during extra time.

The first trophy to utilise the silver goal was the 2003 UEFA Cup final between Porto and Celtic. However, the match ended after two segments of normal extra-time, so the silver goal rule never came into effect.

However, the silver goal also failed to please the IFAB. In February 2004 it was decided that after Euro 2004 in Portugal extra-time would return solely to the usual two 15-minute halves without any goal scoring considerations, as they were before the 1996 European Championships. At Euro 2004, the semifinal match between Greece and the Czech Republic was decided by the silver goal, when Traianos Dellas scored for Greece after a corner kick in the last two seconds of the first period of extra time. This was also the last silver goal ever, as the final game of the cup between Greece and Portugal did not reach extra time. Strictly speaking, it was also the only silver goal ever, as every other silver goal had been scored in the second half of extra time and hence had no impact on when the game was stopped (ignoring golden goals).

Football (soccer) laws | Football (soccer) terminology

Silver Goal | Gol de plata | Arĝenta golo | Silver gol | Silver goal | シルバーゴール | Golden goal og silver goal | Srebrny gol | Silver goal