Penalty shootout counter · Free · No sign-up
Penalty Shootout Counter
A penalty shootout counter records each kick as a goal or a miss, alternating between the teams for five kicks each. This one also knows when it is over: it stops as soon as one team cannot catch up, runs sudden death until a team leads from the same number of kicks, and numbers the kickers.
Free, no sign-up, works offline, and nothing leaves this browser.
Team A 0–0 Team B. Team A to kick
5 kicks each, alternately. It stops as soon as one team cannot catch up.
| Round | Team A | Team B | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| No kick taken yet | |||
Record the final outcome of each kick. A kick the referee orders retaken is not recorded until it is retaken. G is a goal, S saved, M missed (wide, over or off the woodwork), Ctrl+Z undoes. “Players left” is the number on the field at the end of the match, goalkeeper included; the counter reduces the larger team to equal numbers, as Law 10 requires.
This keeps the count for a shootout; it does not referee one. It applies Law 10.3 of the IFAB Laws of the Game: alternate kicks, five each, the early finish, sudden death and the kicker rotation. Whether a kick stands or is retaken — the goalkeeper off the line, encroachment, a double touch — is the referee’s decision, and this is not an official match record. Ice hockey, field hockey and Gaelic football shoot-outs have their own rules.
Keeping the score is easy. Knowing that 4–2 after four kicks each is finished, and that 3–0 after the first team’s third kick is not, is the part people get wrong on the touchline.
A penalty shootout (“kicks from the penalty mark” in older editions of the Laws) decides a drawn knockout match: the teams take five kicks each, alternately, and if they are still level, one kick each in sudden death until one team has scored a goal more from the same number of kicks.
- No sign-up
- Free to use
- Counts never leave your browser
- Works offline
- Unlimited counters
Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Rules | IFAB Laws of the Game, Law 10.3, “Penalties (penalty shoot-out)” |
| Kicks | Five each, alternately, then sudden death; a three-kick competition format is offered |
| Early finish | Ends the moment one team has more goals than the other could reach |
| Sudden death | One kick each per round; only a goal more from the same number of kicks wins |
| Stakes shown | “Kick to win” and “must score” before the kick that decides it |
| Kickers | Numbered 1 to N; the order restarts only after every eligible player has kicked |
| Unequal numbers | Reduces the larger team to the smaller team’s number |
| Outcomes | Goal, saved or missed; retakes are not recorded |
| Undo | Every kick, including the one that ended the shootout |
| Where data goes | Nowhere. Local storage in this browser only |
| Official record | No. It counts the kicks; the referee decides them |
How to count a penalty shootout with the counter
Set it up while the referee tosses the coins, then one tap per kick.
Name the teams
So the call and the kick log read properly: “Rovers 3–2 United”.
Set who kicks first
The first coin toss picks the goal; the second decides which team chooses to kick first or second. Set the team that kicks first.
Set the players left
The number on the field at the end of the match for each team, goalkeeper included. If they differ, the counter reduces the larger team to match, as the Law requires.
Tap the outcome of each kick
Goal, saved or missed. The counter already knows whose kick it is, because kicks alternate for the whole shootout.
Read the stakes before each kick
“Kick to win” or “must score” appears when the next kick can end it. When the shootout is decided, the kick keys lock and the result is stated.
Undo a mis-tap, or a kick ordered retaken
Undo takes back the last kick, even the one that ended the shootout. Record a retaken kick only once it has been retaken.
Where a penalty shootout counter gets used
Anywhere a drawn cup tie goes to penalties and nobody official is keeping the sheet.
Youth and grassroots cup ties
A parent or coach on the touchline keeping the kicks, so the result is not argued over when the fourth kick of five is saved.
Five-a-side and small-sided leagues
Fewer players left at full time means a shorter rotation; set the numbers and the counter tracks who is due.
Tournament days
A knockout bracket with a shootout on every drawn tie, and a kick-by-kick log to report afterwards.
Watching on TV
Follow a World Cup or Champions League shootout and see before each kick whether it can win or lose it.
Training
Penalty practice as a real shootout, with the pressure of “must score” on the right kick.
Learning the rules
For new referees and coaches: the early finish and sudden death applied kick by kick, with the Law beside it.
When a penalty shootout is over: the rule the counter applies
Law 10.3 of the IFAB Laws of the Game gives the stopping rule in one sentence: “If, before both teams have taken five kicks, one has scored more goals than the other could score, even if it were to complete its five kicks, no more kicks are taken.” And the next one covers sudden death: “kicks continue until one team has scored a goal more than the other from the same number of kicks.”
Both come down to one test, and it is the one the counter runs after every kick. Take the number of kicks each team is entitled to so far — five, or the current sudden-death round. The shootout is over when one team’s goals are more than the other team’s goals plus the kicks that team has left. “More than” matters: a team that can still draw level is still alive. Worked through with the first team kicking first:
| Situation | Score | Kicks left (first, second) | Over? |
|---|---|---|---|
| First team 3 from 3, second team 0 from 2 | 3–0 | 2, 3 | No. The second team can still reach 3 |
| The second team misses its third | 3–0 | 2, 2 | Yes. It can reach only 2. Six kicks is the shortest possible shootout |
| First team 4 from 4, second team 1 from 3 | 4–1 | 1, 2 | Yes, straight after the first team’s kick: the second can reach only 3 |
| First team 2 from 4, second team 4 from 4 | 2–4 | 1, 1 | Yes. The first team can reach only 3, so its fifth kick is never taken |
| Level after five kicks each | 4–4 | 0, 0 | No. Sudden death, one kick each per round |
| Round 6: the first team scores | 5–4 | 0, 1 | No. The second team has not had the same number of kicks |
| Round 6: the second team misses | 5–4 | 0, 0 | Yes. A goal more from the same number of kicks |
Source: IFAB Laws of the Game, Law 10.3, “Penalties (penalty shoot-out)”. The counter shows this as the stakes of the next kick: kick to win when a goal ends it, must score when a miss ends it, and nothing dramatic when neither is true. A single kick can never be both.
One kick rule was added for 2026/27. If the kicker accidentally kicks the ball with both feet at once, or it touches the non-kicking foot or leg straight after the kick, the kick is retaken if it went in and recorded as missed if it did not; IFAB wrote this into Law 10.3 to confirm its circular no. 31. Enter whichever outcome the referee gives. Futsal already had the same accidental-touch rule in its 2025-26 Laws: futsal against football’s 2026/27 changes.
The shortcuts that give the wrong answer
- “First to three.” 3–2 after three kicks each is not over; the team on 2 can still reach 4.
- “3–0 is over.” Only once the trailing team has had its third kick. After the leading team’s third it can still draw level.
- “In sudden death, the first goal wins.” Only a goal more from the same number of kicks wins, so the second team always gets its reply.
- “Sudden death changes who kicks first.” It does not. Kicks alternate for the whole shootout in the order the toss set.
Who can kick, and when a player kicks twice
Only players on the field at the end of the match are eligible, the goalkeeper included, with one exception: a goalkeeper who cannot continue may be replaced. If one team has more players, it “must reduce its numbers to the same number as its opponents”, and it chooses who sits out. Then “all eligible players must take a kick before any player can take a second kick”. With eleven each, a shootout reaches its second time through only in round 12. After a red card in the match, ten against eleven, both teams kick from ten, and round 11 is where the first kickers go again. Set “Players left” and the counter numbers the kickers and says when the order starts again.
How other sports settle a level knockout
The shootout is the last step of a level football match, and competition rules decide what comes before it: in a UEFA two-legged tie, extra time and then penalties come only when the aggregate is still level, now that away goals no longer count, as the soccer score counter sets out. Other sports use shootouts of their own. A World Aquatics water polo game has no extra time and goes straight to five penalty shots a side, then sudden death with the same shooters, which the water polo score counter runs. For its 2025 season Pro Kabaddi settled a level league match with five raids a side by five different raiders, then golden raids, then a toss, a rule the kabaddi score counter compares with the federation’s. Rugby knockouts go to extra time and sudden death, and some finish with a place-kicking competition, as the rugby score counter lists by competition. Netball never uses a shootout: a level match is a draw or goes to extra time, as the netball score counter shows rulebook by rulebook. Not every sport leaves the score alone: in NCAA field hockey a shoot-out win credits the winner with one team goal.
Does kicking first win? What the data says
The toss winner chooses whether to kick first or second, and most choose first. The reason is a study that is still quoted as settled, and has since been tested on much larger samples:
| Study | Sample | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Apesteguia and Palacios-Huerta, American Economic Review, 2010 | 129 shootouts | The team kicking first won 60.5% |
| Kocher, Lenz and Sutter, Management Science, 2012 | 540 shootouts | Slightly above half, and not statistically significant |
| Vollmer, Schoch and Brandes, preprint, 2023 | More than 1,500 shootouts | “No advantage for either team in the usual alternating shooting order” |
So the famous 60–40 came from the smallest sample, and the larger ones have not found it. That did not stop the lawmakers testing a fix. From 2017 an “ABBA” order, the order of serves in a tennis tie-break, was trialled in FIFA youth tournaments and by the English and Dutch FAs. IFAB did not adopt it, and the Laws still say the kicks “are taken alternately by the teams”, so the counter alternates.
What the counter can do is keep the record straight: who kicked first is part of every shootout it holds, so a coach or a league keeping its own results can see whether the first-kicking team won, rather than remembering it.
Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet
Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.
| Feature | This online counter | Handheld clicker | Counter phone app | Pen and paper | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $5–$15 | Free with ads, or paid | Cost of paper | Subscription |
| Anything to install | No | Buy the device | App store download | No | Yes, or a web login |
| Several counts at once | Unlimited | One per device | Usually limited | Yes, messy | Yes |
| Fix a miscount | Undo and redo | Start over | Sometimes | Cross it out | Edit the cell |
| Counts by more than one | Any step size | One at a time | Sometimes | Manual maths | Yes |
| Below zero | Yes | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Keeps the count if you close it | Saves automatically | Until you reset the dial | Yes | If you keep the paper | Yes |
| Works with no signal | Yes, after first load | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often not |
| Keyboard and shortcuts | Full | None | None | None | Partial |
| Sends your counts anywhere | Never | Never | Often, for accounts and ads | Never | Yes, to the cloud |
Other counter types
The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.
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Frequently asked questions
How does a penalty shootout work?
After a drawn knockout match, the referee tosses a coin for the goal and again for the order; the toss winner chooses to kick first or second. The teams then take five kicks each, alternately, each by a different player. If one team gets out of reach, it stops early. If they are level after five each, it goes to sudden death.
Can the shootout end before 5 rounds?
Yes. Under IFAB Law 10.3 no more kicks are taken once one team has scored more goals than the other could score with all its remaining kicks. 3–0 after three kicks each is over, the shortest possible shootout at six kicks. 3–0 after the first team’s third kick is not over, because the other team could still reach three.
What happens if the score is tied after 5 rounds?
The shootout goes to sudden death: one kick each per round, in the same order as before, until one team has scored a goal more than the other from the same number of kicks. Scoring first in a round decides nothing, because the other team always takes its reply. There is no limit on the number of sudden-death rounds.
Who can take a kick in a penalty shootout?
Only players on the field at the end of the match, including the goalkeeper, plus a replacement for a goalkeeper who cannot continue. A player sent off during the match cannot take part. If one team has more players, it must reduce to the same number as its opponents, and the team chooses who is left out.
Can a player take two penalties in a shootout?
Yes, but only after every eligible player on the team has taken one. The Law says all eligible players must take a kick before any player can take a second. With eleven players each, that first happens in round 12. With ten each, after a red card and the reduction, the first kicker goes again in round 11.
Who takes the first kick when a shootout goes round a second time?
The same team as in every other round: kicks alternate for the whole shootout in the order the coin toss set, so the team that kicked first still kicks first. Which player kicks is up to that team. Law 10.3 says all eligible players must take a kick before any player takes a second, that this continues for later sequences, “but a team may change the order of kickers”, so the second time round can start with any eligible player.
Can a goalkeeper take a penalty in a shootout?
Yes. The goalkeeper is one of the eligible players, so they are in the rotation like anyone else, and with eleven players each the goalkeepers take a kick by round 11 at the latest if the shootout goes that far. Teams usually put them last in their order, but the order is each team’s own choice.
Does the team that kicks first win more often?
The evidence is split. A 2010 study of 129 shootouts found the first-kicking team won 60.5%, and it is still widely quoted. A 2012 study of 540 shootouts found no significant advantage, and a 2023 analysis of more than 1,500 shootouts found none in the alternating order. IFAB trialled an ABBA order from 2017 but did not adopt it.
What if a kick has to be retaken?
Record nothing until the retake. The referee orders a retake in some cases, such as a goalkeeper who left the line early and then saved the kick; the retake is the kick that counts. The counter records the final outcome of each kick and does not decide whether a kick stands, which is the referee’s decision.
Does a goal in a penalty shootout count?
Not as a goal in the match. Under Law 10 the kicks are taken after the match has ended, so a shootout goal is not added to the score, to the kicker’s goal tally or to the goals the goalkeeper conceded, and the match is recorded as a draw. The shootout only decides who goes through. How shootout goals are recorded has the competition rules.
Is this an official penalty shootout record?
No. It is a counter for grassroots matches, tournaments, training and following a shootout on television. It applies the counting rules of Law 10.3 and keeps the kicks in this browser, sending nothing anywhere. It does not referee the kicks, and ice hockey and field hockey shoot-outs, which have their own rules, are not what it models.
Counting guides
Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.
- Rules
Do penalty shootout goals count?
Why a shootout leaves the match a draw, the scorers' tallies untouched and a keeper's record clean, and where rankings differ.
- Reference
Types of counters explained
Synchronous vs asynchronous, mod-N, ring and Johnson, industrial and PLC counters, plus mechanical and software counters.
- Rules
Futsal rule changes 2025-26
Penalty-kick fouls stop counting, the dropped ball follows possession, and the 8-second rule is not futsal's.
- Rules
NCAA field hockey rules 2026
Division I's new overtime, the shoot-out goal, red card bans, and which FIH edition applies.
- Tallying
Tally marks explained
Groups of five, the five-bar gate, and why the convention has survived for centuries.
- Baseball
How to keep an official pitch count
Little League requires an official recorder at every game. Almost nobody explains the job.