How does a penalty shootout work?
A penalty shootout decides a knockout match still tied after extra time. Teams alternate five penalty kicks each; whoever scores more wins. If still level after five, it goes to sudden death — one round at a time — until one team scores and the other misses.
- 1A shootout is used to decide a knockout match that is level after extra time[1]
- 2Each team takes five kicks, alternating, taken only by players on the field at the end of play[1]
- 3If the score is level after five kicks each, it continues as sudden death, one round at a time[1]
- 4No player may take a second kick until every eligible team-mate, including the goalkeeper, has taken one[1]
When a knockout game is still tied after 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time, the winner is decided by kicks from the penalty mark — the penalty shootout.
Each team picks five kickers from the players on the pitch at the final whistle. The teams alternate, and whoever scores more from their five wins. Often it ends before all ten kicks are taken, once one team can no longer be caught.
If the score is still level after five each, the shootout goes to sudden death: one kick per team per round. The moment one team scores and the other misses in the same round, the match is over. Every outfield player and the goalkeeper must take a kick before anyone goes twice.
Sudden death will feel familiar to NHL fans: it is essentially soccer's version of a penalty-shot shootout to break a tie, and the back-and-forth tension is similar to overtime in American sports where the next score can end everything.
- IFAB — Law 10: Determining the Outcome of a Match(accessed 2026-06-01)
- IFAB — Law 14: The Penalty Kick(accessed 2026-06-01)