The 2025 professional soccer season has kicked off, marking the beginning of a long journey.
When two teams fail to determine a winner after 90 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of extra time, the final showdown is a penalty shootout. It is the ultimate decider at the end of a grueling battle on the field. Often referred to as the 11-meter Russian roulette, the penalty shootout is a nerve-wracking contest that swings between heaven and hell.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) officially recognized the penalty shootout system in 1966, and it was first applied in the World Cup at the 1982 tournament in Spain. However, even if a team wins through a penalty shootout, the official record still shows a draw. This is because the penalty shootout is merely a method for determining advancement or elimination in knockout-stage tournaments and does not affect the actual match result.
When a kicker strikes the ball, crossing the goal line takes approximately 0.4 seconds. Meanwhile, a goalkeeper’s reaction time to detect and move towards the ball is about 0.6 seconds. The ball is always one step ahead of the goalkeeper. The goal dimensions—7.32 meters wide and 2.44 meters high—also favor the kicker. Structurally, a penalty shootout is a game where the kicker is expected to win.
Is the success rate of penalty shootouts close to 100%? Theoretically, yes. Mathematically, it is nearly impossible for a goalkeeper to block a well-placed shot. However, this is merely a theoretical calculation, and reality introduces variables. In actual penalty shootouts (including standard penalty kicks), the success rate is around 70–80%. Experts attribute failures primarily to the psychological pressure on the kicker.
A penalty shootout is a battle of mental fortitude. The kicker wrestles with the fear of failure—”I must score, or I will be blamed”—while the goalkeeper embraces the potential glory—”If I make a save, I will be a hero.” Even star players and seasoned veterans sometimes miss critical shots, proving just how immense the pressure is. In April 2012, two of the greatest active strikers at the time, Lionel Messi (then with Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (then with Real Madrid), suffered heartbreaking misses in penalty shootouts.