New substitution rule immediately showed consequences: Iceland played with one fewer for a minute, Japan scored to win
The new IFAB rule intended to speed up the taking of substitutions received a very concrete example of application ahead of the 2026 World Cup. In the friendly match between Japan and Iceland, played on May 31 at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, the Icelandic national team briefly remained with one player fewer after Kristian Nökkvi Hlynsson, according to available match reports, did not leave the pitch in time during a substitution. The Japan Football Association states in the official match report that Japan won 1:0, and that the only goal was scored by Koki Ogawa in the 87th minute. Match data also show that the substitution in which Ísak Snær Þorvaldsson was supposed to come on instead of Hlynsson was recorded in the same minute in which Ogawa headed in the winning goal. Because of that, the situation immediately became a warning to national teams that will in a few days find themselves at the biggest tournament of the year.
What happened in the closing stages of the match
The match in Tokyo was goalless for a long time, although Japan, according to a Reuters report carried by The Star, had more initiative and several more promising situations in front of the Icelandic goal. Japan entered the match as the host and as a national team completing its preparations for the World Cup, while Iceland was playing a friendly match as part of a broader national-team programme. The official match report of the Japan Football Association confirms that the match began at 19:25 local time, that it was played in Tokyo and that it ended with a 1:0 result. The only goal was scored by Koki Ogawa, a forward who entered the game after halftime instead of Ayase Ueda. According to data from Global Sports Archive, Ogawa scored with a header after an assist from Yukinari Sugawara.
The key detail happened in the very closing stages, when Iceland tried to make a substitution in which Hlynsson was leaving and Þorvaldsson was supposed to enter the game. According to available media reports, Hlynsson did not leave the pitch within the prescribed ten seconds, so the Icelandic substitute was not allowed to enter immediately. That meant Iceland had to continue playing with ten men until the prescribed minute of playing time had elapsed and until the next stoppage in play occurred. It was precisely during that period that Japan took advantage of the numerical superiority and reached the goal that decided the match. The official records confirm the timing overlap of the substitution and the goal in the 87th minute, while a detailed referee’s note about the actual counting of seconds has not been publicly released in the available official materials.
How the new rule reads
IFAB, the body responsible for the Laws of the Game, announced on its official website that a player being substituted must leave the pitch within ten seconds of the substitution board being raised or, if the board is not used, from the referee’s signal. If the player does not do so, he must still leave the game, but the substitute player may not enter until the first stoppage after one minute of playing time has elapsed from the restart of play. In other words, the team knowingly or unknowingly exposes itself to a situation in which it plays for a short time with one player fewer. IFAB also states in its explanations of the rule that in such a case the team cannot cancel the substitution or send someone else instead of the planned substitute. Exceptions may be applied if the player needs more time because of injury or safety reasons accepted by the referee.
The purpose of the rule is clear: to prevent deliberate slowing down of matches during substitutions, especially in the closing stages of matches when the leading team often tries to use up additional seconds. Previous practice already required the player leaving the pitch to leave at the nearest boundary line, unless the referee permitted otherwise. The new rule goes a step further because it does not remain only at a warning or added time, but introduces an immediate tactical consequence. For coaches, this means they must prepare the substitution before the board is raised, and for players, that there is no longer room for slow walking toward the centre of the pitch, delaying with the captain’s armband or last tactical instructions on the grass. The situation from Tokyo shows that even a few seconds of inattention can change the result.
The change comes in a broader package of measures
The new rule on time-limited substitutions is part of a broader package of changes with which IFAB wants to speed up the flow of the game and reduce tactical time-wasting. According to IFAB’s announcement after the 140th Annual General Meeting, the introduction of a visual five-second countdown for overly long throw-ins and goal kicks was also confirmed. If a throw-in is not taken on time, the ball is awarded to the opposing team, and if a goal kick is delayed for too long, the opponent receives a corner kick. A rule has also been introduced according to which a player who receives a medical assessment on the pitch or whose injury stops play must leave the pitch and remain out of play for one minute of playing time after the restart. This is intended to reduce the number of situations in which injuries are used to interrupt the opponent’s rhythm or to gain additional time for tactical instructions.
At the same time, IFAB also confirmed adjustments to the VAR protocol. According to the official announcement, VAR may intervene in red cards that arise from an obviously incorrectly awarded second yellow card, in cases of mistaken identity when the wrong player or wrong team has been sanctioned, and in cases of an obviously incorrectly awarded corner kick if the check can be carried out immediately and without delaying the restart. The Laws of the Game for the 2026/27 season formally come into force on July 1, 2026, but IFAB states that competitions beginning before that date may apply the changes earlier. It is precisely this transitional possibility that is important for the 2026 World Cup, which begins on June 11 and ends on July 19.
Why the Tokyo example matters for the World Cup
The 2026 World Cup will be the first with 48 national teams and a total of 104 matches, according to official FIFA data. The tournament is being played in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, in 16 host cities, and because of the scale of the competition, special attention is being directed toward match duration, game flow and control of stoppages. In such a context, the new rules are not merely a technical addition to refereeing instructions, but part of an attempt to make football more dynamic and more predictable for spectators, television schedules and the teams themselves. If the rule is applied consistently, head coaches will not be able to count on substitutions as a safe way to interrupt the opponent’s pressure without risk. Every slow reaction by a player leaving the field can leave the team vulnerable precisely in the moments when the result is most often decided.
Iceland’s example is particularly striking because it was not a symbolic or unimportant situation in the middle of the pitch, but a moment that immediately preceded the winning goal. Japan had until then been searching for a route to goal, and the Icelandic defence was holding the score at 0:0. When Þorvaldsson was waiting for permission to enter, the Japanese team had a brief but real numerical advantage. In modern football, in which set pieces, crosses and positioning in the penalty area are prepared in detail, even one minute can be enough to find the extra man in the right place. Ogawa’s goal therefore became a practical demonstration that the new rule will not be perceived only as an administrative measure, but as an element that can directly affect the outcome of a match.
The rule is not completely new in practice
Although for international football this is a novelty in the Laws of the Game, a similar concept has already been tested in North American football. Major League Soccer announced that the rules on time-limited substitutions and mandatory leaving of the pitch because of a medical assessment were first introduced in MLS NEXT Pro, and then also in MLS. According to MLS, in the 2025 season as many as 99 percent of substitutions in that league were completed within ten seconds, while only 12 violations of that rule were recorded in 510 matches. The league also stated that injury stoppages decreased by 72 percent compared with the previous average. Those data were an important argument for expanding the model to the global level.
That background explains why IFAB opted for a solution that does not rest only on additional added time. Added time can extend the match, but it does not necessarily change the behaviour of a player who wants to break the opponent’s rhythm at a key moment. A one-minute penalty with one player fewer works differently because it transfers responsibility to the entire team and coaching staff. The player leaving the field must react quickly, the substitute must be fully ready, and the bench must know in advance where the player is and by which route he should leave the pitch most quickly. That is exactly why this change is expected to be incorporated very quickly into training routines and match preparation.
Coaches and players will have to change habits
The biggest challenge will not only be knowing the rule, but changing habits that have been tolerated for years. Players being substituted often slow their exit, greet teammates, approach the bench, hand over the captain’s armband or stop to hear the coach’s final instruction. All of that can now become risky if it takes place after the ten-second window has been started. In practice, players will be expected to head immediately toward the nearest line, regardless of whether the bench is on the opposite side. After leaving the field they must continue toward the technical area or dressing room, but that part must no longer slow down the substitution procedure itself.
For coaching staffs, this means that the organisation of substitutions will become an even more precise part of match management. The player coming on must be ready with equipment, instructions and position before the procedure is officially started. If a player who is far from the bench is being substituted, coaches will have to assess whether it is worth waiting for a more favourable stoppage or risking that the player has to run toward the nearest line. In high-intensity matches, especially at the World Cup, fatigue and pressure can make a quick reaction more difficult. That is why referees and fourth officials are expected to communicate the protocol additionally with national teams before the tournament, and teams are expected to simulate such situations in preparation.
The match also had a broader Japanese context
For Japan, the victory against Iceland was the final home test before leaving for the World Cup, according to the Reuters report. Head coach Hajime Moriyasu used the match for a large number of substitutions, and the official JFA match report shows that Japan changed almost the entire lineup during the match. Particular attention was also drawn by the appearance of Maya Yoshida, for whom, according to Reuters’ report, a symbolic farewell moment was arranged, while the official JFA match report states that he left the game in the 14th minute. Japan reached victory in the closing stages through Ogawa, a forward who in the most recent qualifying cycles has established himself as one of the important options at the top of the attack. FIFA had already highlighted Ogawa in 2024 in a special article as a possible answer to Japan’s finishing question in the position of a classic striker.
Iceland, on the other hand, entered the match as a national team that is not participating in the 2026 World Cup, but has a packed schedule of friendly matches. The Icelandic Football Association announced that head coach Arnar Gunnlaugsson had prepared separate player lists for the matches against Japan and Argentina, because the match with Japan was not in a standard international window. In its preview, KSÍ also recalled that Iceland and Japan had met three times before this match in senior men’s competition and that Japan had won all three duels. The 1:0 defeat in Tokyo thus continued that run, but because of the circumstances in the closing stages it acquired a much broader meaning than an ordinary friendly match.
One minute that changes the way of thinking
Football has in recent years already gone through several changes aimed at actual playing time, from stricter calculation of added time to limiting the time a goalkeeper may hold the ball. The new substitution rule fits into that trend, but it is especially important because it concerns one of the most common tools for managing the rhythm of a match. Its application in Tokyo showed that the penalty is not theoretical and that it can be serious even if it lasts only one minute. For national teams that will play at the World Cup under great pressure, this is a signal that even seemingly small procedural details must be understood as part of competitive preparation. If the same situation happens in the knockout stage of a major tournament, the consequences could be much greater than a defeat in a friendly match.
Sources:
- IFAB – official announcement on measures for better game flow, time-limited substitutions, treatment off the field and changes to the VAR protocol (link)
- IFAB Football Rules – explanation of the substitution procedure and consequences if a player does not leave the pitch within ten seconds (link)
- FIFA – official schedule and format of the 2026 World Cup, including 48 national teams, 104 matches and host cities (link)
- Japan Football Association, JFA – official match report of Japan – Iceland, result, scorer and basic match information (link)
- Global Sports Archive – chronology of the Japan – Iceland match, including the Hlynsson – Þorvaldsson substitution and Koki Ogawa’s goal in the 87th minute (link)
- Reuters / The Star – report from the Japan – Iceland match and context of Japan’s final home test before the World Cup (link)
- Icelandic Football Association, KSÍ – announcement of Icelandic squads and context of friendly matches against Japan and Argentina (link)
- Major League Soccer – data on the earlier application of the time-limited substitutions rule and its effect on stoppages in play (link)