Two-legged match

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In sport (particularly soccer), a two-legged match is a match-up between two clubs or nations that lasts over two individual games. Typically, these are used in knockout cup competitions. The team who progresses is the one with the better aggregate score, which refers to the sum of scorelines from the two games. For example, if two teams are playing each other in a two-legged match, and the first result is 1-1 and the second is 2-1, then the aggregate scoreline will be 3-2. If the aggregate score is tied, then away goals may come into consideration. If away goals are equal, or are not considered, then extra time and possibly a penalty shootout will occur.

In typical two-legged matches, each team will play one game (known as a 'leg') at 'home' as a way to resolve who is the strongest of the two teams without giving only one of the teams a home field advantage. However, most managers and players feel that the team playing at home for the second leg has a slight advantage over the other team. Nevertheless, it has been popular in international football tournaments, such as those club competitions run by UEFA (e.g the UEFA Cup) or in play-off qualification games for the FIFA World Cup.