A penalty shootout starts with two coin tosses - the first to determine the side of the field where the kicks will be taken from and the second to determine which team takes the first kick of the penalty shootout. Before a penalty shootout starts, each team selects five players to take penalty kicks.

In football, a penalty kick is a direct free kick from the 12 yard spot. It an be awarded in play for a foul by the defending side inside the area. A penalty shootout is a series of kicks from the spot, when a game (usually in a cup tournament, or a promotion/relegation match) ends undecided.