Selecting the best team from the players in the 2018 FIFA World Cup using performance analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-32
Author(s):  
Tugay Karadag ◽  
Coskun Parim ◽  
Erhan Cene

This study aims to determine the best player in each position from among the footballers who played in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Player statistics for those who played over 200 minutes were obtained from the FIFA official and transfermarkt.com websites. Selected performance variables were then calculated per 100 minutes and the results were normalised. Kruskal Wallis H and Bonferroni Tests were used to determine the weights of the variables before the analysis. As the variables will have different values according to the players’ positions, the weights for each position were calculated separately. Finally, the performances of the players on the basis of the variables used were ranked for each position using the TOPSIS method. A second analysis was undertaken including only those players whose ages were under 28 and goalkeepers whose ages were under 32. The purpose of this analysis was to identify players with potential that had been largely unrecognised up until the tournament. It was found that both the teams selected in this way were dominated by players from European clubs. Ninety-two percent of the top sixty players in the analysis were playing in European leagues with 85% playing in Spain, England, Italy, Germany, France or Russia.

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
Alliance Kubayi ◽  
Abel Toriola

AbstractSoccer is the most popular sport in the world. Despite this global popularity, European teams in contrast to African ones, have dominated the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup tournaments for many decades. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the performance indicators that differentiated between African and European teams in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Thirty matches played by five European (n = 15) and five African teams (n = 15) from the group stages of the World Cup were analysed using the InStat video system. The results showed that European teams had higher averages than African teams on the following performance variables: total shots, shots on target, goals scored from open play and set pieces, ball possession, short passes, medium passes, total passes, accurate passes and corner kicks. Therefore, soccer coaches should take note of these findings as they could serve as a benchmark for African teams to set trends and improve their performance at FIFA World Cup tournaments.


Author(s):  
Rui Freitas ◽  
Anna Volossovitch ◽  
Carlos H Almeida

Transition moments play a major role in match outcome and constitute an important part of the soccer coaching process. Nevertheless, the body of literature on match analysis reveals a lack of knowledge regarding transition moments, particularly the defensive ones. This study aimed to analyse how several situational and performance variables were associated with different defensive transition outcomes. A sample of 977 defensive transitions from 15 matches of FIFA World Cup 2018 was coded using a bespoke observational system. Data were analysed through log-linear modelling and Pearson’s chi-square. Regarding performance variables, final position ( p ≤ 0.001; ES = 0.390[≥0.290]; large effect size), duration ( p ≤ 0.001; ES = 0.206[0.07; 0.21]) , defensive approach ( p ≤ 0.001; ES = 0.419[0.30; 0.50]) , defensive pressure ( p ≤ 0.001; ES = 0.147[0.05; 0.15]; medium effect sizes), numerical relations ( p ≤ 0.05; ES = 0.113[0.07; 0.21]) , initial position ( p ≤ 0.05; ES = 0.092[0.06; 0.17]) , initial number of zones ( p ≤ 0.05; ES = 0.083[0.05; 0.15]) , final number of zones ( p ≤ 0.001; ES = 0.112[0.05; 0.15]) and defensive coverage ( p ≤ 0.001; ES = 0.130[0.05; 0.15]; small effect sizes) were significantly associated with the defensive transitions outcomes. A small-sized and non-significant association ( p = 0.126; ES = 0.080[0.07; 0.21]) was found for type of ball loss. Concerning the situational variables, a small-sized and significant association between match outcome and defensive transitions outcome was identified ( p ≤ 0.05; ES = 0.092[0.07; 0.21]). Our findings provide new knowledge on factors that influence team success in defensive transitions. The coaching staff should be aware that the exploitation of areas behind the most retreated player of the midfield sector ought to be avoided. Furthermore, a reduction in the space available to ball carriers and an increased effort to quickly recover possession should be encouraged.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-197
Author(s):  
Martin Flégl

This article analyzes the performance of the national football teams during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. The sample consists of 31 qualified national teams to the final tournament in Brazil. The analysis uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology and is carried out for the whole qualification period between June 2011 and November 2013. Each national team is evaluated according to a number of played matches, used players, qualification group quality, obtained points, and score. The results show that only 12.9% teams reached the performance of 100%. The reasons of low performances mainly depend on teams´ qualities either in each qualification zone or in each qualification group. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is used to confirm the adequate structure of the DEA model.


2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 609-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
George P Nassis ◽  
Joao Brito ◽  
Jiri Dvorak ◽  
Hakim Chalabi ◽  
Sebastien Racinais

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemal Göral

<p class="Default">This study has been carried out to analyze the National Team of Germany that had been the winner of the 2014 FIFA World Cup as the most successful team for several variables. Data analyzed in this research were gathered from the official web site of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association and the international TV channels broadcasting the competitions. Technic parameters such as shots, accurate shots, corner kicks, offsides, accurate and non-accurate passes, and variances of goals scored in the matches were analyzed according to the goal times and areas. Statistics were registered through SPSS program and the percentages and frequencies were calculated. Germany National Team, the most successful team of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has scored 18 goals with an average of 2.57 goals per match without conceding a goal in the first periods . This statistic is similar to all previous tournaments. All along the tournament, most (%74) of the first 11 players of the teams starting the matches were consisted of players from Bundesliga. Accurate shots’ percentage has been determined as %73.2, the average percentage of possessing the ball as %56.71 and also the percentage of accurate passes as %81.9 out of 4990 pass attempts. As a conclusion, to achieve great results in top level tournaments such as FIFA World Cup, there are important performance indicators to take into consideration. Regarding the success of the German National Soccer Team in the tournament, it is argued that especially possessing the ball, shooting and passing accurately with a high rate along with other performance indicators are the base elements of success.</p><p class="Default"> </p><p class="Default"><strong>Özet</strong></p><p>Bu çalışma, 2014 FIFA Dünya Kupasında ilk sırada yer alarak en başarılı takım olan Almanya Milli futbol takımının farklı değişkenler açısından analiz edilmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırma verileri, müsabakaları yayımlayan uluslararası TV kanalından ve FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) resmi internet sitesinden elde edilmiştir. Müsabakalarda, atılan ve yenilen gollerin zaman dilimlerine göre dağılımı, bölgelere göre topa sahip olma yüzdeleri, atılan şut, isabetli şut, köşe vuruşu, ofsayt, başarılı ve başarısız pas sayıları gibi teknik parametrelerin dağılımları analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler SPSS programında kaydedilmiş, frekans ve yüzde değerleri hesaplanarak yorumlanmıştır. 2014 Dünya kupasının en başarılı takımı olan Almanya Milli takımının, turnuva boyunca maç başına 2.57 gol ortalaması ile attığı 18 golün tüm zaman dilimlerinde benzer dağılımlar gösterdiği ve maçların ilk yarılarında hiç gol yenilmediği belirlenmiştir. Turnuva boyunca maçlara ilk 11’de başlayan futbolcuların büyük çoğunluğunu (%74.0) Bundesliga’da oynayan futbolcular oluşturmaktadır. İsabetli şut atma yüzdesinin %73.2 gibi oldukça önemli bir oranda, 7 maçta yapılan 4990 pas girişiminden %81.9’unun başarılı ve topa sahip olma yüzdesi ortalamasının %56.71 olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, Futbol Dünya Kupası gibi üst düzey müsabakaların oynandığı turnuvalarda, başarılı performansa ulaşabilmek için gerekli birçok performans göstergesinin olduğu, Almanya Milli takımının başarısında her maçta yüksek oranda isabetli şut atma, topa sahip olma ve başarılı pas yüzdeleri ile birlikte bu unsurların diğer performans göstergelerini de olumlu yönde etkileyerek başarılı performansın temelini oluşturduğu söylenebilir.</p>


Author(s):  
Alliance Kubayi ◽  
Paul Larkin ◽  
Abel Toriola

This study explored how the video assistant referee (VAR) has influenced match performance variables at Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup tournaments. Comparative analysis was undertaken of matches played during the FIFA 2018 World Cup ( n = 64) tournament, where VAR was employed, and those played during the 2014 World Cup ( n = 64) tournament, where VAR was not employed. The following performance variables were recorded and analysed for each of the matches played: goals, penalties, corner kicks, yellow cards, red cards, offsides, playing time during the first half, playing time during the second half and total playing time. After the introduction of VAR, there were significant ( p < 0.05) increases in the number of penalties, as well as playing time during the first half, second half and total playing time. In contrast, a significant ( p < 0.05) decline was observed in the number of offsides after VAR was implemented. The current findings have practical implications for improvement of VAR implementation guidelines at FIFA World Cup competitions.


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