Extra Time and Penalty Shoot-Outs Explained
Competition rules decide how a draw is resolved, including whether extra time comes before penalties.
A draw does not lead to the same procedure in every competition. It may be an acceptable result or require a winner under the tournament regulations. IFAB Law 10 provides the framework; the competition determines which procedure applies at that stage.
When extra time is used
Where required, extra time consists of two equal periods of no more than fifteen minutes each. Goals scored during them form part of the match result. Stoppage time can be added to each period, so reaching 120 minutes on the clock does not necessarily end play immediately.
Specific regulations, such as UEFA's European Championship provision, explain the applicable arrangement. Check the tournament you are watching rather than transferring a final's format to a different round or competition.
How the shoot-out progresses
Teams initially take up to five alternating kicks. It can finish earlier when one side can no longer catch the other. If level afterwards, they continue until one leads after equal numbers of attempts. A player cannot take a second kick until every eligible team-mate has taken a first.
Read the shoot-out separately
In a hypothetical shoot-out, scoring the sixth kick does not alone settle the outcome if the opponent has not taken its sixth. A match ending 1-1 with a 4-3 shoot-out contains two separate scores; it does not become a 5-4 match result.
Count the attempts remaining before calling a kick decisive. Also distinguish an in-match penalty, which can produce a rebound, from the procedure for a shoot-out kick after the match has ended.
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