The World Cup penalty shootout rule change FIFA ditched last minute

Monday night served up two penalty shootouts at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and they won't be the last before this tournament is over.

Few things in the sport divide opinion like a shootout. It is electric theater when a nation's hopes ride on every kick, and absolute torture if you happen to be the side walking off as the loser.

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It could all have looked a little different this time around. FIFA pushed to change the way shootouts begin at the World Cup before the knockout stage, only to pull the idea at the last minute and leave the existing rules untouched.

What FIFA wanted to change about World Cup penalty shootouts

As things stand, two coin tosses take place before a shootout. The first, a neutral toss, decides which end of the stadium the penalties are taken at. The second, between the two captains, settles who shoots first or second.

That is the system that will see out the rest of the World Cup.

FIFA's proposal, as reported by BBC Sport's Dale Johnson, would have cut that down to a single toss. The winning captain would have picked either the end or the order, with the losing captain automatically handed whatever was left.

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The thinking was simple enough — stop one team from scooping up both advantages through luck alone.

IFAB, the body that actually writes the laws of the game, was open to running a trial of the change in the knockout rounds. In the end, there was no appetite for altering the rules midway through a tournament. The idea may resurface down the line, but not now.

Football doesn't do well with change. Hydration breaks were met with fury when they arrived, and plenty of supporters still bristle at anything that fiddles with the basics.

This one is a little different. Nobody was touching the shootout itself, only the coin toss that sets it up, and a fairer toss is hard to argue against in principle.

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Even so, the instinct among many fans is the same as ever — leave it alone. The game has been compelling enough as it is, and Monday night was proof of that.

The drama certainly has not been in short supply. Germany's exit to Paraguay was their first shootout defeat in World Cup history. The Netherlands, meanwhile, went out on penalties for a third tournament running.

For now, the two-toss routine stays, and any team reaching a shootout over the coming weeks will do so under the existing rules.

READ MORE:

Netherlands extend abysmal FIFA World Cup penalty shootout record after loss to Morocco

Germany's penalty shootout at the FIFA World Cup suffers huge blow after shock loss to Paraguay

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