One of the most popular football terms that you are likely going to hear is “aggregate”. This is whether you are just getting started in soccer or you have been a fan of the sport for a very long time. It is one of the most important aspects of every two-legged tie where teams face each other home and away.
A home game means that one of the sides is playing in their home stadium while the away side is the visiting side who also plays in their home turf in the return leg of the two-legged soccer game.
It should be known that these kinds of soccer games will be witnessed in the knockout stages of soccer tournaments at both club and international levels as well as qualifiers.
Knowing what an aggregate score is, is very important if you want to enjoy to the fullest the piece of the football game that you are watching. After all, why will you even watch a sport that you do not understand?
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The words “aggregate” and “aggregate score” are mostly known by referees and other football fans in cup games or knock-out soccer games as indicated earlier.
Also, knowing the definitions of these terms is very important if you want to enjoy the game and this is why we will be sharing with you “what is aggregate in soccer”. This will include its definition, its use cases, and a few ways that the concept is applied in the round leather game.
What Is Aggregate In Soccer?
An “aggregate” in soccer is basically the total number of goals that a team has scored against a particular opponent during the course of the game. In basic terms, this is actually the sum total of goals one scored just to get past their opponents in the knockout or cup game.
Later on, I will show you a few examples of aggregate in soccer.
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How Does Aggregate Work In Soccer?
“Aggregate score” is a very simple dynamic and it works in a very simple way. Find below a scenario of how the aggregate score in soccer works ;
Two teams, Team A and Team B are in a knockout or cup game. Team A scored 2 goals in the game while Team B only scored a goal in the game. In this situation, Team A won the game with an aggregate of 2-1.
However, in most cases, the aggregate game could be over the course of two legs. That is, “Home” and “Away” and the team with the highest number of goals on aggregate emerges as the winner.
Soccer Games Affected By The Aggregate Score Rule
Basically, “aggregate” scores are mostly used in knockout games or just cup tournaments. By “knockout games”, I mean games where one of the teams will be forced to exit the competition if they are defeated. Here are a few of the soccer games affected by the aggregate score rule
- FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds
- UEFA Champions League
- Copa Libertadores
- The Spanish Copa del Rey
- The Italian Coppa Italia
- CONCACAF Champions League.
- Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.
Other competitions include the knockout stages of the English FA Cup, and Carabao Cup, amongst others.
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Example Of Aggregate Score In Soccer
Aggregate score is best seen in competitions such as the UEFA Champions League. The team with the most goals in the knockout stages gets to advance to the next stage of the competition. Here is an example of an aggregate score being used in soccer;
- Team A plays against Team B in a competition and the first leg of the game ends with Team A winning by 3 -1
- And then in the second leg, Team A also wins 1-0. It, therefore, means that the aggregate score of the game is 4-1 with Team A being the qualifiers. This is mostly the case although there was a time when away goals were significant.
Why Aggregate Is Used In Soccer?
Aggregate is used in soccer mostly to make it fun and to give both teams a chance to redeem themselves.
In tournaments like the UEFA Champions League, aggregate scorelines are always used over the two-legged match. And this is done to give both teams the chance of redeeming themselves at an away ground and on their home ground.
What Is Away Goal Rule?
The away goal rule is a soccer rule that is considered when both teams have scored a goal. It is actually used in favor of the side that scores the most goals away from their home in a two-legged tie.
The significance of the away goal rule in the UEFA Champions League has been watered down in recent times as a winner must emerge with a superior number of goals regardless of where the goals were scored.
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Example of the Away Goal Rule in Soccer
The away goal rule played a key role in determining who won in a tied aggregate score in soccer. Here is an example of an away goal rule being used –
- Team A plays against Team B away in a competition and the first leg of the game ends with Team A winning by 1-4.
- And now, Team B plays against Team A in Team A’s home (making Team B the away team). The match ended 3-0 with Team B being the winner of the second leg. However, the aggregate score is 4-4 and should be a tie, but Team A will be declared winners of the knockout game because of the away goal rule as they scored more goals away from home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can An Aggregate Be Tied?
Yes, an aggregate can be tied. However, having a tied aggregate does not mean that one will qualify and as such, the away goal rule comes into play. However, in UEFA games, penalties will ensue to decide a winner as the number of away goals scored will be of no significance.
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Who Wins If Aggregate Is Tied?
Depending on the scoreline, if an aggregate is tied, the away goal rule is brought in. The team that scored the most goals while away is most often declared the winner. However, in a goalless tie, penalties would be played to determine the winner of the tie.
Does The Away Goal Rule Affect The Aggregate Score?
Yes, the away goal rule affects the aggregate score. In this article, I have shown in detail how an aggregate score can be affected by the away goal rule.
Kenneth is a an avid soccer follower, fan and writer. He is a consistent follower of the sport and is a fan of Chelsea FC.