Matches are simulated automatically at their scheduled time. You don't control players during the match. Your pre-match tactical decisions determine the outcome.
Set your tactics and lineup before the match starts. Prep closes 30 minutes before kickoff (see Match Preparation above).
The engine simulates the match in the 30 minute window between prep close and kickoff so the result is ready when kickoff arrives. Nothing about the match becomes public until kickoff itself: no score, no standings movement, no inbox notification, no push, no achievement unlock. Until that moment the fixture still reads as upcoming on every page.
The instant kickoff hits, the score, standings, awards and notifications all land at once and the replay becomes available.
Visit the match page to watch the replay where commentary unfolds minute by minute.
Goals pause the action and show a dramatic popup. Tap anywhere to continue.
Playing at home gives your whole team a noticeable lift across defence, midfield, and attack. The crowd lifts everything: bolder attacks, more possession, more confident defending. Home wins are meaningfully more common than away wins in an otherwise neutral matchup, without making away wins feel out of reach.
Players tire gradually during a match. How quickly they tire depends on their age. Players in their peak years (25-29) have the best conditioning and tire the slowest. See the age table in for the full breakdown.
The Gegenpress philosophy accelerates fatigue. After the 70th minute, players in a Gegenpress side tire significantly faster.
Fatigue reduces a player's contribution to their zone (defence, midfield, or attack). A tired team creates fewer chances and defends worse.
After a match, each player's energy level is shown alongside their performance rating so you can see how tired they were by full time.
Fatigue is in-game only. It only affects performance during the match. After the final whistle, all players reset to full energy. There is no carry-over between matches.
You can plan up to 5 substitutions per match from the Tactics page.
Subs come on completely fresh with zero fatigue, which immediately boosts your team's pitch control.
The best time to sub depends on your tactics:
Playing Gegenpress? Sub around the 65-70 minute mark, just before the fatigue spike hits.
Playing against Gegenpress? Sub at 70-75 minutes to exploit the opponent's tiring players.
Normal play? Sub around 60-70 minutes for the best balance of impact and fresh minutes.
Be careful about subbing a weaker player on early. Their lower rating drags down the zone even though they're fresh.
A short period of added time plays after each half. The clock ticks past 45 as "45+1'", "45+2'", and so on, and the same at the end of the match.
Stoppage stretches when there is more for the referee to track: lots of fouls, red cards, late goals (where the celebration eats the clock), heavy substitutions, and a team that leans into the dark arts all push the clock up.
Second-half stoppage settles into one of four broadcast-style values: 3 minutes for a seamless half, 5 for a standard low-drama half, 7 for the modern baseline with average goal celebrations and a normal sub rotation, and 10 minutes only when multiple triggers stack — multiple goals, red cards, dark-arts theatrics. First-half stoppage is capped at 4 minutes.
When the result is done and dusted (three or more goal margin at full time), late goals stop counting toward stoppage. There is no real celebration drama when the match is already decided, so the referee waves play on instead of stretching the clock.
Every match type uses the same stoppage logic — league, cup, and friendlies. Cup ties still go straight to penalties if they are level after stoppage. No extra time.
When a shot is saved or goes off target, it can result in a corner kick. Corners create an immediate headed chance in the box.
Your offensive strategy determines how often your team creates headers, big chances, and long shots. Wing Plays produces the most headers, while Varied gives a balanced mix.
Players with the Aerial King trait are more likely to be selected for headed chances and get a significant goal probability boost. However, if the defending team has an Aerial King goalkeeper or defender, the aerial advantage is cancelled out.
The Clinical Header trait increases conversion on any headed chance, pairing well with Aerial King. One boosts the chance, the other finishes it.
Each match has a randomly assigned referee who influences how the game plays out. See the section for full details.
Challenge other clubs to friendly matches outside of league fixtures. Friendlies affect player form and can cause injuries, but they don't affect league standings, player growth, or career stats. Minutes, goals, and assists in friendlies do not count toward season or career totals. Red cards in friendlies don't result in suspensions. See the section for full details.
If the service stalls past your scheduled kickoff, your fixture is pushed to a new kickoff a short time from now rather than simulated silently. Both managers get a "Match Rescheduled" notification with the new time, and the Match Centre shows a banner reading "Rescheduled from..." so it's clear the kickoff moved.
Your tactics and lineup carry over, so you don't need to set anything again. You can still adjust them up until the new kickoff.
On your fixture list, a rescheduled match shows a small "Rescheduled" pill next to the new kickoff time.
For a very long delay where moving the kickoff would clash with the next day's fixtures, the match is simulated directly and marked "simulated after a scheduling delay" on the report. No spoiler notification fires, so you see a clean result when you next visit the match page.