A new rule intended for the 2026 World Cup became a topic of discussion in the friendly match between the national football teams of Japan and Iceland.
Idman.Biz reports that Icelandic national team player Kristian Hlinsson did not leave the field within 10 seconds when being substituted. As a result, his teammate who was supposed to replace him was not allowed to enter the field for a minute.
During that time, the Japanese team took advantage of the numerical advantage and scored a goal. Koki Ogawa scored the only goal with a header in the 87th minute of the match held at the Tokyo National Stadium, and Japan won 1:0.
According to the new rule, a substituted player must leave the field within 10 seconds after the board is shown or the referee signals. Otherwise, even if the player leaves the field, the player replacing him can only enter the field during the first stoppage after a minute has passed since the game was restarted. This rule was adopted by IFAB (International Football Association Board) to increase the tempo of the game and prevent time wasting.