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How do penalty shootouts work? Rules of soccer format explained

Some of the most high-stakes football matches have been determined through a penalty shootout, but what exactly are the rules of one?

Penalty shootouts are some of the most nerve-wracking and stressful situations – for both players partaking and the viewers sitting anxiously at home, chewing their fingernails off in agony.

Add the high stakes of what a shootout means as well as the anticipation period when a player runs up and shoots for the net in one of the most dramatic situations in football – sudden death in a last 16 game, the decider of a semi-final, the shootout to determine the winner of the World Cup.