Away goals rule facts for kids
The Away goals rule is a special way to decide which team wins in association football (soccer) when two teams play each other twice. This usually happens in knockout tournaments. Each team plays one game at their own home ground and one game at the other team's home ground.
The rule says that if the total score (goals from both games added together) is a tie, the team that scored more goals when they were playing away from their home stadium wins. It's like those "away" goals count for more!
This rule is used in many big football competitions around the world. Some examples include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and FIFA World Cup qualification matches. It's also used in tournaments like the CONCACAF Champions League, AFC Champions League, and Copa Libertadores.
How the Away Goals Rule Works
Imagine two teams, Team A and Team B, are playing two games against each other.
- Game 1: Team A hosts Team B at Team A's home stadium.
- Game 2: Team B hosts Team A at Team B's home stadium.
After both games, you add up all the goals each team scored. If the total score is tied, then you look at how many goals each team scored when they were playing at the other team's stadium (their away goals). The team with more away goals wins the tie.
Example in Action
Let's look at a real example from the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League. The teams Marseille and Inter Milan played each other in the Round of 16.
- First Game (in Marseille):
* Marseille played at home and won 1–0 against Inter Milan. * So, Marseille scored 1 goal, Inter Milan scored 0 goals.
- Second Game (in Milan):
* Inter Milan played at home and won 2–1 against Marseille. * So, Inter Milan scored 2 goals, Marseille scored 1 goal.
Now, let's add up the total scores:
- Marseille's total goals: 1 (from first game) + 1 (from second game) = 2 goals
- Inter Milan's total goals: 0 (from first game) + 2 (from second game) = 2 goals
The total score is tied at 2–2! This is where the away goals rule comes in.
Let's check the away goals:
- Marseille's away goals: In the second game, Marseille scored 1 goal when they were playing at Inter Milan's stadium. So, Marseille has 1 away goal.
- Inter Milan's away goals: In the first game, Inter Milan scored 0 goals when they were playing at Marseille's stadium. So, Inter Milan has 0 away goals.
Since Marseille scored 1 away goal and Inter Milan scored 0 away goals, Marseille won the match on away goals. Even though the total score was a tie, Marseille advanced to the next round because they scored a goal when they were playing away from home.
- Marseille 1–0 Inter Milan
- Inter Milan 2–1 Marseille
See also
In Spanish: Regla del gol de visitante para niños
