{
  "id": "how-a-penalty-shootout-works",
  "type": "guide",
  "name": "How a penalty shoot-out actually works",
  "summary": "Kicks from the penalty mark under the 2026/27 Laws, in procedure order: who is eligible, the two coin tosses, reduce-to-equate, the alternating kicks and early finish, sudden death, and how Law 14 applies during the shoot-out.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "guide",
    "penalty-shoot-out",
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "refereeing"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "explains",
      "target": "law-10-outcome-of-a-match"
    },
    {
      "rel": "governed_by",
      "target": "law-14-penalty-kick"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "How does a penalty shoot-out work?",
    "Can a shoot-out end before five kicks each?",
    "Who is allowed to take a penalty in a shoot-out?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "Only players on the field of play, or temporarily off it with the referee's permission (injury, equipment adjustment), at the end of the match are eligible; a team with more eligible players than its opponent must reduce to the same number before and during the shoot-out.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-10-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "The referee tosses a coin to choose the goal (unless conditions or safety dictate) and tosses again for kick order, with the toss winner deciding whether to kick first or second.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-10-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.92
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "Teams alternate kicks for five each, but the shoot-out ends early once one team has scored more goals than the other could reach with its remaining kicks; if level after five, it continues one kick each in sudden death until one team leads after an equal number.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-10-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "No eligible player takes a second kick until every eligible team-mate has taken a first, and all eligible players except the kicker and the two goalkeepers must remain in the centre circle.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-10-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c5",
      "text": "Each kick follows Law 14 mechanics: stationary ball on the mark, forward kick, and the goalkeeper keeping part of one foot touching, in line with, or behind the goal line when the ball is kicked.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-14-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.93
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [
    "Only players on the field at the final whistle may kick, and teams reduce to equate.",
    "The shoot-out ends early once the arithmetic is settled.",
    "Sudden death continues one kick each until one side leads after equal kicks.",
    "Each kick follows Law 14, including the goalkeeper one-foot-on-line rule."
  ],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "Explains the mechanics people argue about at 1 a.m. — early finishes, reduce-to-equate, who may kick — in the procedure order of the 2026/27 Law 10 text, with Law 14 kick mechanics cross-bound.",
  "confidence": 0.93,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "body": "# How a penalty shoot-out actually works\n\nKicks from the penalty mark are not \"penalties until someone misses\".\nThey are a procedure with an eligibility gate, two coin tosses, and an\narithmetic early exit.\n\n## Who may kick\n\nOnly players who were on the field at the final whistle — or temporarily\noff it with the referee's permission, such as for an injury — are\neligible. Substituted players are not. If one team finishes with more\neligible players (an opponent was sent off, say), it must **reduce to\nequate**: drop players until both teams have the same number, and tell\nthe referee who was removed.\n\n## Before the first kick\n\nThe referee tosses a coin twice. The first toss picks the goal (unless\nsafety or pitch conditions decide it). The second picks order: the\nwinning captain chooses whether to kick first or second. Everyone except\nthe current kicker and the two goalkeepers waits in the centre circle.\n\n## The five-kick phase\n\nTeams alternate. Five kicks each is the frame, but the shoot-out ends\nthe moment the arithmetic is settled: once a team leads by more goals\nthan the other could still score with its remaining kicks, it is over.\n3-0 after three kicks each ends it.\n\n## Sudden death\n\nLevel after five? One kick each, same order discipline, until one team\nleads after an equal number of kicks. Nobody kicks twice until every\neligible team-mate — goalkeepers included — has kicked once.\n\n## The kick itself\n\nEach kick is a Law 14 penalty: ball stationary on the mark, kicked\nforward, and the goalkeeper must have part of one foot touching, in line\nwith, or behind the goal line when the ball is struck.",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/how-a-penalty-shootout-works",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/how-a-penalty-shootout-works.json",
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    "name": "How a penalty shoot-out actually works",
    "description": "Kicks from the penalty mark under the 2026/27 Laws, in procedure order: who is eligible, the two coin tosses, reduce-to-equate, the alternating kicks and early finish, sudden death, and how Law 14 applies during the shoot-out.",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/how-a-penalty-shootout-works",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 10 — Determining the Outcome of a Match (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/determining-the-outcome-of-a-match/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 14 — The Penalty Kick (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-penalty-kick/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "How a penalty shoot-out actually works"
  }
}