Aggregate score is a term in football used to describe the total score of matches in a two-legged match between two teams. These two-legged matches are done when there is a two-legged tie. In some confederations, the two-legged tie, which leads to the computation of the aggregate score, is more commonly termed as, “home-and-home series” or “two-game total-goals series”.

Aggregate score is also commonly known as, “total points series”. It is one of the many playoff formats.

Aggregate Scoring and Tiebreaking

Deciding the winner of a football match is as simple as adding basic numbers. This holds true for aggregate scoring. This usually happens when competitions or matches are played on a knockout basis to determine the winner of teams who earned the same number of points.

First, a draw is made to decide on which pair of football teams will be playing with each other. This pair will play each other twice, commonly called as a home-and-home. The winner will be determined by adding all of the scores that the teams had made in both games. This process results in determining the aggregate score. So if team A wins with a score of 4-2 in the first match and loses with a 0-1 in the second match, it will still be declared the winner since it accumulated a total score of 4 against the score of 3 from the opposing team.

If the aggregate score is tied, which means both teams have the same scores for the two-legged match, the “away goals rule” is followed. This rule determines the winner by looking into the team that scored the most number of goals in the field of the opposing team.

If the scores are still tied even after using the away goals rule, overtime will be played. This overtime will last for 30 minutes and usually does not follow the sudden death play. If the tie is not broken after 30 minutes, a penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner.

Quick Facts on Aggregate Score

The aggregate score is determined or used commonly during two-legged ties. This usually happens in association football or soccer and other sporting competitions like the NHL playoffs, NASCAR playoffs, and even PGA Tour playoffs. Using the aggregate score in determining the team that will proceed to the championship round has been useful for these competitions.