The penalty shootout is one of the most tense moments in football round of 16 matches.
Fans and players feel the heat when decisive matches are decided by the high stakes of a shootout showdown with the possibility of penalties, always a key part of international tournaments.
Knockout matches at World Cups, European Championships and Copa América carry the possibility of a penalty shoot-out if necessary.
The Jugo Mobile offers an explanation of how penalty shootouts work.
What are penalty kicks in soccer?
In football, a penalty is a free kick taken from the penalty spot, which is 12 yards from the goal line. The kicker must try to score past the opposing team’s goalkeeper, who must try to stop the shot.
Penalties can take place in two different scenarios: as punishment for a foul inside the penalty area during open play, or as part of a penalty shootout to decide the outcome of a tournament match that ends in a tie.
This last example only comes into effect if a knockout match is tied after 90 minutes of “regular” time and 30 minutes of overtime.
A penalty shoot-out was needed to decide the winner of the 2006 edition. #FIFA World Cup… image.twitter.com/GmAfkbvWeW
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 11, 2022
How do penalty kicks work?
At the start of a penalty shoot-out, the referee will call each team captain to toss a coin, which will decide which team will take the first penalty and choose which end of the field the penalty shoot-out will take place.
The teams take turns for the first 10 penalties. Team A will take one, then team B, then team A again, and so on until each side has taken five each.
If one side gains an unassailable lead, they win the penalty shootout. If the score is tied after five penalties each, it leads to sudden death, where the team trailing in the penalty shootout at the end of each round is the loser.
How many penalty kicks are taken?
If the score is tied after the first 10 penalties (five each), the penalty shoot-out goes to sudden death, in which penalties are taken until one team scores and the other misses.
This means that it is possible for the entire team, including goalkeepers, to take penalties. Players could even be required to take more than one penalty, but only after all other available members of their team (in other words, the players who were on the field at the end of extra time) have already taken one.
