How long is a match, and what happens if it's a draw?

Match length (World Aquatics rules, Part Six, Article 4): four periods of 8 minutes of actual play. The clock starts when a player first touches the ball and stops at every stoppage until the ball is put back into play.

Teams change ends before the third period. Each period starts with players on their own goal line, about 1 m apart, and the ball released at halfway.

If it's level after four periods, there's no extra time: the winner is decided by a penalty shootout:

• A 3-minute break, during which a coin toss decides which team shoots first.
• Five players from each team stay in the water; the rest sit on the bench.
• Teams take alternate penalty throws against the other team's goalkeeper, in an order each team chooses. If the shootout goes beyond five each, the same order repeats.