The Concacaf Gold Cup 2025 is taking place in the United States, featuring 16 teams from North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia. A tournament of this magnitude is governed by a set of rules that address various in-game situations—including how substitutions are handled.
According to the Gold Cup regulations, before kickoff, each team’s head coach must submit a roster of 23 players eligible for that match. From that list, 11 players must be designated as starters and 12 as substitutes.
Before the match begins, any of the players in the starting lineup can be replaced by substitutes without affecting the number of substitutions allowed during the game. However, the vacated spot among the substitutes cannot be filled by a player who was not on the original 23-man roster.
“Each team will be permitted to use a maximum of five (5) substitutes,” states Article 6.5 regarding regulation time. “To reduce disruption to the match, each team will have a maximum of three (3) opportunities to make substitutions during the game; substitutions may also be made at half-time.”
Mexico are the reigning Concacaf Gold Cup champions after the winning the title in 2023.
It’s important to note that during each of these substitution “windows,” it’s up to the coach to decide how many changes to make, as long as they don’t exceed the total of five per match. “If both teams make a substitution at the same time, this will count as one (1) of the three (3) opportunities for each team,” the regulation adds.
see also
How much is the prize money at the 2025 Gold Cup? Breakdown and payouts explained
Substitutions during extra time
The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup has specific rules for extra time. This only applies in the final if the match is tied at the end of the regulation 90 minutes. That situation brings additional provisions regarding substitutions.
“Unused substitutions and opportunities are carried forward into extra time,” Article 6.5 states. In other words, if a team finishes regulation without using all five of its substitutions or all three of its substitution windows, those can still be used during overtime. But that’s not all.
“An additional substitution will be allowed in extra time, teams will each have one (1) additional substitution opportunity. Substitutions may also be made before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.” This means that if the match goes to extra time, each team may make a total of six substitutions.
“Substitutions made during half time, before the start of the extra time and at half-time of the extra time shall not reduce the substitution opportunities available,” the Concacaf Gold Cup regulations clarify.
What is a concussion substitution?
Another special case that may occur during a match is when a player suffers a head injury. The Gold Cup regulations lay out specific procedures for referees in this situation: “During the match, if there is a traumatic head injury leading to a concussion to a player, and the player remains on the field of play, the referee shall stop play for as much as three minutes as injury time.”
It continues: “At the end of the three minutes, at the discretion of the team doctor, the player may be ready to return to play or immobilized appropriately and transported off the field using the standard protocol.”
If the player is unable to continue due to the concussion, the Gold Cup follows FIFA’s concussion substitution protocol introduced in recent years. This allows the affected team to replace the injured player without it counting toward the team’s official substitution limit.
This happened, for instance, with France in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina, when Adrien Rabiot suffered a head injury after a collision with Julian Alvarez and was subbed off. That day, head coach Didier Deschamps became the first manager in soccer history to make seven substitutions in a single match: the five allowed in regulation, one extra in overtime, and one due to a concussion.
SurveyWill Mexico win their second Gold Cup title in a row?
Will Mexico win their second Gold Cup title in a row?
already voted 0 people
