2011 World Football Challenge

Match rules

Match rules followed the Laws of the Game, with a few notable exceptions.^[2]

• In the event of a tie after the regulation 90 minutes, a penalty shootout immediately followed. These penalties did not accrue points in the table as a regulation goal or penalty would.
• Cautions and sending offs did not carry into the next competitive game, however, a player may have been suspended for their club's next WFC match.
• Teams had a roster of 25 players, and clubs were able to substitute eleven players during the course of the match rather than the standard three.

Table setup

The format was a single table, accruing points as follows:

• Three points for a regulation victory
• Two points for a penalty shootout victory
• One point for a penalty shootout loss
• No points for a regulation loss
• One point for each goal scored (up to three per match)

Sporting CP, who played only one game, did not accrue points, but their opponent, Juventus, were able to in their matchup. The five Major League Soccer teams were split up into two different "clubs" for the purposes of the table, the MLS Eastern Conference (containing the Chicago Fire, New England Revolution, and Philadelphia Union), and the MLS Western Conference (containing the Los Angeles Galaxy, who played two games, and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC). Each of the other seven clubs played three games and accrued points as normal.^[2]

Table tiebreakers

In the event of a tie in the final table standings, the following tiebreakers were used in order:^[2]

1. Regulation goal difference
2. Most goals for in regulation
3. Fewest goals against in regulation
4. Most goals scored in regulation in one match
5. Drawing of lots