International soccer is trying something new with the penalty shootout this week.
At the European men’s under-17 championship in Croatia and the women’s under-17 event in the Czech Republic, knockout games ending in a tie will go to a shootout as usual. And, as usual, a coin toss will determine who goes first — but only for the first kick. Instead of one team kicking first in each round, the teams will alternate going first, round by round.
Looking at it another way, instead of the kicks going AB, AB, AB, AB, AB until a winner is determined, they will go AB, BA, AB, BA, AB and so on.