What are the rules and examples of penalty kicks in the 2026 World Cup

With the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup underway, penalty kicks have become increasingly important. A total of 13 penalty kicks were attempted in matches during the tournament, and two matches in the Round of 32 were decided by dramatic penalty shootouts. For fans who may be new to football, here are some of the basic rules and reasoning behind penalty kicks in this beautiful game. ## Why is a penalty kick awarded? A penalty kick (also called a penalty or PK) is awarded to a team for a foul that occurs inside the penalty box — usually a foul or sometimes a handball. A player takes a penalty, facing one on one against the opposing goalkeeper.  When a player is fouled outside the field, his team will get a free kick at the spot of the foul. However, as fouls or handballs inside the box usually occur ahead of goal-scoring attempts, penalty kicks offer a controlled solution to all fouls occurring inside the area. During the World Cup and other competitive tournaments, penalties are usually most associated with penalty shootouts, which are used to determine the winner after playing extra time. (More on that later.) ## Main rules when taking a penalty Penalty kicks have a set of rules that help keep the regulations in the context of the game. Referees are very strict about this: Violations of this rule usually result in a kick being restarted, or the defending team regaining possession with an indirect free kick. ### The ball must be on the penalty spot Whoever takes the penalty must place the ball on the penalty spot in the center of the box. The ball does not have to cover the spot perfectly — most players prefer to place the ball slightly off center — but it must touch the spot before the kick is taken. ### Players must stay outside the box When a player takes a PK, his teammates must stay outside the penalty box. It includes a semi-circle at the top of the box, designed specifically for PKs, to keep players at a distance from penalty kicks. Failure to do so is considered a “violation,” and may result in repeated penalties. Players want to be close to the penalty spot, and will enter the box as soon as the kick is taken. The reason for that is they can help capitalize on rebounds if a shot is saved by the goalkeeper or hits the post or crossbar. In that situation, the penalty taker is _not_ allowed to touch the ball, but his teammates can. ### The goalkeeper must stay on the goal line Because moving towards the penalty spot can give an unfair advantage, the goalkeeper attempting to defend the penalty kick must remain on or behind the goal line until the penalty taker kicks the ball. Goalkeepers will usually place their toes on the line to ensure that they do not step too far forward, and they cannot jump off the line before the ball is kicked. If they are too forward, or if they jump early, that is also considered a foul. This exact scenario happened during the group stage match between [England](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) and [Croatia](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/): [Harry Kane](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) stepped up to take a penalty early in the match, and his first effort was saved by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livaković. However, a review showed Livaković had stepped off the line too early; Kane then succeeded in executing a penalty on the re-kick. ### Players may not touch the ball twice, and must keep moving Penalty takers only have one touch to kick the ball, meaning they have to be very careful in executing their kick. There are also rules about how long a player can hesitate before taking a kick, with the general rule being that they must keep moving. Many players take a rocking step for this reason, moving in short steps to slow down play before finally kicking the ball. ## How does penalty shootout work? Now that the World Cup has entered the knockout stages, every match must have a winner, not end in a draw. If the match is still tied after 90 minutes, the match will go to two 15 minute extra time periods; after that, the match was decided by a penalty shootout. The shootout consists of five rounds to start, with the order of advancing teams determined by a coin toss. Teams select five penalty takers and then take turns, with each pair of players forming one "round". If the penalties are still a draw after that, additional spins are added until a winner emerges. (Sometimes, the penalty rounds last long enough that even the goalkeeper has to take penalty kicks as the teams rotate through the roster.) Penalty shootouts are a notoriously fair way to end a match, as one miss or save is enough to change the outcome. Both knockout matches have gone to penalties — with [Paraguay](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) [shocking](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) [Germany](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) and the Netherlands [lost from](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) [Morocco](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) — ended with the underdog winning. ## Why do players miss penalty kicks? Sometimes a penalty kick is considered a guaranteed goal, but the reality is much more complicated than that. Many players miss penalties, usually for three reasons: inexperience, goalkeeper saves, and too much complexity. In terms of experience, most teams usually have several players designated as penalty takers—that is, those with proven skill and success from the penalty spot. However, having multiple experienced penalty experts on one team is rare, and the most experienced players are often substituted before the game goes into a penalty shootout. That means that players who don't have much penalty experience often have to take these high-risk shots under great pressure. During the penalty shootout lost by Germany, the final kick was taken by [Jonathan Tah](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/), a defender who had never taken a penalty in a match before; he quickly sent his kick soaring. Another reason for the failure is that goalkeepers are getting better at saving penalties. Because penalty kicks usually move too quickly for the goalkeeper's reflexes, there are a variety of ways goalkeepers can prepare for a penalty, from notes on player trends to mind games with the player taking the penalty. However, usually goalkeepers try to approach penalties by diving to one side or the other, and hope they choose correctly based on other factors. However, that also started to change: Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine "[Bono](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/)" [Bounou](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) saved the kick from [Crysencio Summerville](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) by standing tall and jumping to match Summerville's kick. To keep up with this increasing skill, players are finding new ways to try to make their kicks more difficult to predict. But sometimes that means that they overcomplicate things, and end up skipping them completely. [Lionel Messi](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) , known for his charming shots from distance, missed a penalty against [Austria](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) after trying to take a soft touch. Morocco captain [Achraf Hakimi](https://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/article/) tried to kick at a sharp angle to the left, but overshot and hit the post. There are many ways to try to make a penalty happen, and players will always try new things to make their kicks harder to save, with varying degrees of success. That's part of the fun and drama of a penalty shootout: you never know what will happen. --- ## Related Articles 1. [Mundial 2026](https://pitchpulsemedia.com/en/news/world-cup-what-to-watch-messis-argentina-vs-cape-verde-colombia-egypt-in-action) 2. [Why England Were Denied a Penalty for Harry Kane's Incident Against DR Congo](https://pitchpulsemedia.com/en/news/why-england-were-denied-a-penalty-for-harry-kanes-incident-against-dr-congo)