Penalty Shootout

A penalty shootout (officially 'kicks from the penalty mark') is used to determine the winner of a match that is tied after extra time, in knockout competitions.

IFAB officially calls it 'kicks from the penalty mark' — though 'penalty shootout' is the colloquial term used everywhere.

The initial round is five kicks each; if that ties, sudden death continues one kick at a time until it is settled.

ABAB = the standard system. Teams alternate one kick each. Used since penalty shootouts began.

ABBA was an experimental order trialled (e.g., 2017-2019) to reduce the advantage of going first. Inspired by tennis tiebreaks. IFAB abandoned it in 2021.

Reduce to equalise works by the larger team naming and recording their excluded players before the shootout starts, so both sides field the same number of kickers.

Only players on the field (or temporarily off for injury/equipment) at the final whistle of extra time can take kicks. Sent-off players cannot. Substitutes who didn't enter cannot.

A 'shootout penalty' is a kick during the shootout itself — same penalty mark, same procedure as in-match penalty, but with no rebounds and one shot only.

Two coin tosses: 1) decides the goal at which the kicks will be taken; 2) decides which team kicks first or second.

Every eligible player waits in the centre circle during the shootout, except whoever is taking the current kick and the two goalkeepers.

Each team takes up to 5 kicks in the initial round. After 5 each, if scores are level, sudden death begins.

After 5 kicks each, if level, kicks continue alternately (sudden death). The first team ahead after equal kicks wins.

Each team has one goalkeeper defending while the other team kicks. Both goalkeepers are on the field; one defends each team's kicks.

Only the defending goalkeeper is inside the penalty area during a shootout kick. All others (eligible players + kicker's GK) are outside.

Standard penalty rules apply: players (other than kicker and defending GK) must be at least 9.15m from the penalty mark.

IFAB trialled ABBA from 2017. The experiment was abandoned around 2021 due to mixed results and complexity. ABAB remains the standard.

The first major international tournament settled by penalty shootout was the 1976 Euro Championship final. Czechoslovakia won, with Antonin Panenka's famous chip.

The 1982 World Cup in Spain saw the first shootout — a semi-final between West Germany and France.

The referee tosses a coin to decide which goal will be used. May be changed only for safety/playability reasons.

After the goal-end coin toss, a second coin toss decides who kicks first. The winner chooses to take the first or second kick.

The referee tosses the coin twice — once for goal end, once for kick order. The team winning the second toss chooses first or second.

The order of kickers is decided by the team's coach. Players to take kicks aren't pre-named — coaches choose flexibly within sudden death.

The defending goalkeeper must have at least one foot on or in line with the goal line when the kick is taken.

The kicker's goalkeeper must remain on the field of play, outside the penalty area, on the goal line at the boundary of the penalty area.

A first encroachment only earns the goalkeeper a warning; a further one in the shootout is carded.

If a goalkeeper is unable to continue (injury), they can be replaced by an eligible player or a named substitute (if subs aren't fully used). Only allowed when GK cannot continue.

Reduce to equalise starts by identifying which team has more players, then that team reports its exclusions to the referee before kicks begin.

An eligible player on the field may change places with the goalkeeper. The referee must be informed.

All disciplinary rules apply. Cards can be issued to players, substitutes, substituted players, or team officials during the shootout.

If a player leaves the shootout (e.g., voluntarily), the opposing team must remove a player to equalise. The referee must be informed.

Eligibility for the shootout is fixed at the exact moment extra time ends — only those players (or those briefly off for injury or equipment) may take part.

A player sent off during the match is not eligible for the shootout. They cannot return.

Goalkeeper replacement is only allowed for inability to continue (injury, illness) with subs not fully used. Tactical replacement is forbidden.

Tap penalties are NOT allowed in shootouts. Each kick is one shot only — no rebounds or passes to teammates.

In shootouts, rebounds aren't in play. Kicker has only ONE shot. Touching the ball again = recorded as miss.

No player may take a second kick until every eligible teammate has taken a first one; sudden death only follows if the initial round is tied.

During a shootout kick, the penalty area holds only the kicker and the goalkeeper defending that kick — everyone else waits outside it.

The kicker's goalkeeper stands OUTSIDE the penalty area, on the goal line where the penalty area boundary meets it.

Goals are reviewable by VAR. In a shootout, VAR can review whether a goal scored or not.

Cards apply during the shootout. Misbehaviour (dissent, unsporting behaviour) can result in cautions or sending-off.

Per IFAB Circular 31 (2025), accidental double-touch (e.g., standing foot grazes ball) leads to a retake — not disallowed.

Deliberate double-touch in shootout = recorded as missed (the kicker forfeits the kick).

GK offence + miss/save = retake. First offence: warning; subsequent: yellow card.

Kicker offence + ball in = miss + yellow card.

A sent-off goalkeeper who had already kicked is replaced by an eligible player, but that replacement waits until the next round to take a kick.

Outfield players who drop out of a shootout are not replaced; instead the opposing team reduces to match, just as in the reduce-to-equalise rule.

A burst ball is nobody's fault, so the kick is simply retaken from the penalty mark.

Outside interference = retake, unless the goalkeeper clearly couldn't have saved it (then goal counts).

Once one team has scored more after equal kicks have been taken, that team wins.

Tied after 5 kicks each = sudden death. Kicks continue 1 each until a team leads after equal kicks.

The shootout was approved in 1970, first used at a major tournament in 1976, and first used at a World Cup in 1982.

The 1976 Euro final was the first major international tournament decided by shootout. Czechoslovakia won. Antonin Panenka's chip became iconic.

Spain '82 saw the first World Cup shootout — semi-final WG vs France (West Germany won).

Antonin Panenka famously chipped the decisive penalty in the 1976 Euro final, beating Sepp Maier (Germany). His name is now used for the technique.

Before FIFA/IFAB approved the shootout in 1970, a drawn knockout match was normally replayed, or very occasionally settled by drawing lots.

IFAB trialled ABBA from 2017 before abandoning it a few years later, leaving ABAB as the standard order.

ABBA was abandoned around 2021 after trials showed mixed results. ABAB (alternating order) remains the standard.

The rule that sent-off players cannot take kicks has been in place from the beginning. Modern wording is in Law 10.

Pre-2019: both feet on the line. From 2019: at least one foot on/in line with the goal line.

Antonin Panenka pioneered the technique. Modern players who've emulated: Zinedine Zidane (2006 WC final), Andrea Pirlo, and many others.

A player who leaves for a reason other than injury is simply not replaced, and the opponents reduce their own numbers to match.

If a player cannot return in time, their kick is forfeited — not scored.

An injured goalkeeper who had already kicked is replaced by an eligible player, who then waits until the next round before taking a kick.

The rule requiring at least seven players to continue a match does not apply during the shootout itself.

In shootouts, simultaneous offences = recorded as missed + yellow card to kicker (regardless of outcome of kick).

Stopping in the run-up is part of legal feinting. The kick continues normally.

Feinting after run-up complete = miss + yellow card.

GK red card during shootout = replaced by an eligible player on the field. The replacement may need to come from someone already excluded for equalisation.

Each eligible player must kick once before anyone takes a 2nd kick. The 'each player kicks before repeats' rule applies.

If outside interference happens AFTER the ball was clearly going in (GK couldn't save), the goal counts.

The goal area is where goal kicks are taken from — a different restart from the penalty-mark shootout kick shown elsewhere.

ABAB = standard alternating. ABBA = tennis-tiebreak-style: A, B, B, A, A, B, B, A. ABBA was trialled but abandoned.

In-match: must have at least 7 to continue. Shootout: minimum 7 doesn't apply, but teams must have equal numbers (reduce to equalise).

In-match: 5 tactical subs in 3 windows. Shootout: only GK can be replaced for injury (if subs not fully used).

Same cautionable/sending-off categories. But cards/cautions from the match itself are NOT carried into the shootout.

Replays and, rarely, drawing lots were the old method, replaced once FIFA/IFAB approved the shootout in 1970.

Panenka: chipped/dinked into the centre (banking on GK diving). Placement: powerful shot to a corner. Different psychological approaches.

Shootouts are individually scrutinised; in-match penalties happen in a fluid game. Many studies suggest shootouts feature higher psychological stress.

The 1976 Euro final shootout came six years before the first one at a World Cup, in 1982.

Studies show going first has a slight psychological/statistical advantage (~60% win rate). This is what motivated the ABBA experiment.

A tied initial round of five kicks each moves into sudden death, continuing one kick at a time until it is decided.

GK offence + save = retake. Warning for first; yellow card for repeated.

Everyone except the current kicker and the two goalkeepers must wait in the centre circle, well clear of the penalty area.

Eligibility: only on-field players at the final whistle of extra time. Subs cannot enter for the shootout.

Per Circular 31 (2025), accidental double-touch leads to retake.

GK who has taken a kick + injured + replaced. Replacement cannot kick until next round.

In sudden death, after equal kicks, the team that has scored more wins. A scores + B misses = A wins.

Substituted players are NOT on the field at the end of extra time. Not eligible.

All 5 initial kicks must be taken. If after 5 each the score is 5-4, the leading team wins.

Once no possible result of the remaining kicks could change the winner, the referee ends the shootout there and then.

Every shootout kick covers the 11 metres between the penalty mark and the goal line, the same distance as an in-match penalty.

Sudden death = alternating kicks (1 each) after the initial 5 kicks. First team to lead after equal kicks wins.

Only players on the field (or temporarily off for injury/equipment) at the final whistle of extra time can participate.

Unused subs cannot take part. Eligibility is on-field players at end of extra time.

The shootout was approved in 1970 and first used at a major tournament, the Euro final, six years later in 1976.

For fairness, teams must have equal numbers in the shootout. Excess players are excluded.

Tactical GK replacement is forbidden. Only injury/red card replacements allowed.

All eligible players (other than kicker and the two goalkeepers) stay in the centre circle.

ABAB has always been the standard kicking order; ABBA was only trialled later, from 2017, before being abandoned.

Disciplinary record from the match is NOT carried forward. Discipline restarts for the shootout.