FIFA wanted to fix something about penalty shootouts before the 2026 World Cup knockout stage kicked off. The International Football Association Board, the body that actually governs the rules of the game, said no.
The proposal was straightforward: replace the traditional two coin tosses before a shootout with a single toss. The winning team would choose either to kick first or which goal to attack, and the losing team would get whatever option remained. Clean, simple, and designed to prevent one team from sweeping both advantages through sheer luck.
Instead, the original two-toss system stays in place for the tournament’s knockout rounds, which began on June 28, 2026.
What FIFA was actually trying to fix
Here’s the thing about the current system. Two separate coin tosses happen before a penalty shootout. One determines who kicks first. The other determines which end of the pitch the kicks are taken at. That means one team can theoretically win both tosses, gaining the psychological edge of shooting first and the tactical advantage of choosing which goal to use.
