A red card at the World Cup is usually a one-match ban. That applies to both a straight red and a second yellow in the same match.

How it works

  • The player is sent off and cannot be replaced for the rest of that game.
  • They then miss their team’s next match automatically.
  • FIFA can add more games if the offense is serious enough.

Simple example

If a player gets a red card in the group stage, they sit out the next group or knockout match, depending on what comes next for their team.

Extra note

Yellow-card suspensions can reset at certain points in the tournament, but red-card bans do not reset that way.

If you want, I can also explain the difference between a straight red and a second-yellow red in the World Cup.