Knockout Scoring: Predict the Final Score (Including ET & Penalties)
From the Round of 32 onwards, predictions are scored against the final result — extra time and penalties included. Plus a quick note on the new dark theme.
The group stage is done, the brackets are set, and the knockouts arrive with a small but important twist for your predictions.
The rule
From the Round of 32 onwards, your prediction is scored against the final result of the match — including extra time and penalties. There's no separate "after 90 minutes" prediction in the knockouts: just one scoreline, the one that decides who goes through.
Two quick examples
Extra time decides it. The match ends 1 - 1 after 90 minutes, goes to extra time, and one team scores. The final score is 2 - 1 — that's what your prediction is compared against.
Penalties decide it. The match ends 2 - 2 after 90 minutes, no goals in extra time, and one side wins the shootout. The final score is 3 - 2 — the shootout winner gets one extra goal added to their total.
So if you fancy a penalty-shootout call, predict the team you back to win the shootout with one more goal than the other side (e.g. 2 - 1, 3 - 2). It's the cleanest way to score a shootout pick.
Heads up: a draw prediction = 0 points
Because every knockout match ends with a winner (after extra time or penalties), a draw scoreline like 1 - 1 or 2 - 2 can never match the final result. That means a draw prediction in the Round of 32 onwards is guaranteed 0 points — both the exact-score path and the correct-winner path are blocked, because there is no "draw" winner in the final result.
Pick a side and give them at least a one-goal edge (e.g. 2 - 1 instead of 1 - 1) — that keeps both scoring paths open.
Everything else is the same: exact score gets the exact-score points, correct winner (in the final result) gets the winner points, wrong winner gets zero.
Also new: Dark theme 🌙
If you missed the announcement — PoolPlay now has a dark theme. Open the avatar menu → Settings & Notifications → Theme, and pick Light, Dark, or System. Easier on the eyes for those late kick-offs.
Good luck in the knockouts.
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