Penalty shootouts as fans know them may be about to come to an end.
UEFA are trialling the use of a new format, and it was first used on Thursday in The Netherlands. Germany defeated Norway in the semi-finals on the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championships to book their place in the Final against Spain.
Penalty shootouts have traditionally taken place with teams taking alternate shots. This has always added pressure to the team taking the second penalty, so UEFA are trialling a system very similiar to what's used in tennis tie-breakers.
In Thursday's match, Germany took the first penalty with Norway their first one next. Instead of Germany taking their second as is currently the norm, Norway took another one. That format continued with both teams taking two in a row, until Norway took their fifth and final penalty.
After five penalties each, the teams were tied at 2-2. In sudden death, Norway took the first penalty, despite starting second in the shootout. Their sixth penalty was saved, allowing Andrea Brunner to score the winning goal.
#WU17EURO
penalty shoot-out:
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Germany into the final 👗 UEFA Women's EURO (@UEFAWomensEURO) May 11, 2017
Known as the ABBA method, the format of the shootout was approved in March, but may not enter the footballing rule book permanently.
Either way the German and Norwegian Women's Under-17 teams were involved in footballing history.
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