Jesús Rico-Sanz, PhD
Soccer Performance & Science Institute
Introduction
During the past 30 years I have advocated for the need to report match performance of individual players and teams with objective grading of the actions that occur during the game. I created the Soccer-Grade Performance Average (Soccer-GPA) as an objective, categorical, and comprehensive method to grade technical and tactical performance of players during attacking and defending actions that occur in a soccer match. In recent articles, I provided evidence on how the attacking technical Soccer-GPA differentiates individual and team performances during the 2020 and 2021 UEFA Champions League Finals. Indeed, differences among players, positional roles, and teams were found between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final
Also, distinct playing styles and individual performances were shown for players, positional groups, and the teams during the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final; namely Chelsea and Manchester City.
In the present article, I summarize individual performances of the players of the USA Men's National Team (MNT) during four home qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup against Canada, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Mexico played between September and November of 2021. This longitudinal analysis of players during several games within the same elite competition can be used to trace individual progress, the positional groups performances in different games, as well as the team performance. The four games analyzed were played from September 5, 2021 to November 12, 2021. Thus, the narrow window of time (2 months), the similarity of the competition (World Cup qualifying matches), and the fact that all games were played at home (similar support system), and the same style of play in each match (1-4-3-3), and the need to win each game gives the comparison of grades more validity.
Methods
The games analyzed where those home games played between September and November of 2021 against Canada (Sep 5), Jamaica (Oct 7), Costa Rica (Oct 13), and Mexico (Nov 12) that were qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. The match performances of a total of 29 players utilized by the USA MNT during the four home qualifiers were evaluated using the Soccer-GPA panel. The matches were analyzed in the Dartfish LiveS platform. Each attacking technical action was coded, categorized, and graded using the Soccer-GPA method which follows a specific set of objective criteria for grading performance. Of the 29 players utilized, 20 players started in at least one game, and 9 players entered the field during the course of game. For the Mexico game on November 12, Richards entered the field in extra time and was only in contact with the ball one time, thus he is not included in the analysis of that game. All open play attacking actions were analyzed, categorized and graded using the Soccer-GPA method (https://www.soccerpsi.com/soccer-performance-analysis).
The attacking technical actions included all dribbles, ball controls, passes and headers, and scoring attempts. The Soccer-GPA presented here is the average GPA for all the actions in the game which represent the technical performance grade in attacking open play by each player.
Results
In the first game against Canada, there were a total of 1069 attacking technical actions for USA (91% accuracy) evaluated and graded. In the second game against Jamaica the USA team had fewer attacking actions (998) with similar percent accuracy (90%). In the third game against Costa Rica, the number of attacking actions for the USA increased to 1249, maintaining 90% accuracy. In the last home game in 2021 against Mexico, the total number of attacking actions and the percent accuracy decreased significantly (788 actions and 85% accuracy). The average number of attacking actions for the four games was 1026. Below is the distribution of the attacking actions in each game. Interestingly, in the three games that the USA won and scored two goals, the number of scoring attempts was at least 15. The number of scoring attempts produced against Canada was significantly lower with only 9 attempts; the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Figure 1. Total number of attacking technical actions for the USA Men's National Team during four home qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup.
The number of attacking actions for each of the 29 players utilized in the four games is shown below in figure 2. In the game against Canada, the majority of the ball contacts was in the possession of the two central defenders M. Robinson and Brooks. After that game, the three starting midfielders Adams, Musah, and McKennie took more control of the ball possession. The average number of attacking technical actions for each positional play for the four games was: 28 for the goalkeeper position, 122 for each of the two central defenders, 101 for each of the two wingbacks (outside backs), 123 for each of the three midfielders, and 61 for each of the three forwards. The wing forwards had similar average attacking technical actions per game at 72 and 75, while the center forwards on average per game were only in contact with the ball 36 times.
Figure 2. Total number of attacking technical actions for individual players of the USA Men's National Team during four qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup.
The attacking technical GPA for each of the USA MNT players is shown below in Figure 3 for each of the four games.
Between the two goalkeepers (Turner and Steffen) who played two games each, Steffen had the higher GPA (1.36 vs 1.12) on the average of both games.
Regarding the central defenders most utilized in the four games analyzed, Zimmerman and M. Robinson, they have similar average GPA when they played full games (both 1.14).
The wingbacks most utilized during the four games were Dest and Yedlin on the right side, and A. Robinson on the left side. Dest and Yedlin had very similar attacking GPA on the average of the games they played: 1.40 (Dest), 1.43 (Yedlin). On the left side, A. Robinson had a lower GPA at 1.34 as average of the four games.
The three midfielders most utilized in the 4 games were Adams, Musah, and McKennie. Adams was very consistent in all games and had an average GPA of 1.29 for the 4 games. Musah and McKennie only played in the last three games. The average attacking technical GPA for these three games was 1.52 for Musah and 1.49 for McKennie.
Of the forwards, Aaronson is the one with most playing time and had an attacking GPA of 1.38 as the average of the 4 games. Pepi's average attacking GPA during the last three games was 1.39. Weah's GPA was 1.52 as the average of the attacking actions in the game against Jamaica coming off the bench and as starter in the last two games. Pulisic's attacking technical GPA playing the full game against Canada's was 1.40, while his GPA against Mexico was 1.35 when he played about 25 minutes late in the game. When playing for Chelsea the last part of the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final his GPA was1.43. (https://www.soccerpsi.com/post/technical-soccer-gpa-of-attacking-actions-during-the-2021-uefa-champions-league-final).
Figure 3. Technical Soccer-GPA for attacking actions for individual players of the USA Men's National Team during four qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup.
Conclusion
The present study shows how the Soccer-GPA can be utilized to follow objectively the performance of players in a series of games played during a period of time. The Soccer-GPA provides a numerical grade representing the specific, objective, categorical, comprehensive, essential, and relevant performance analysis of soccer players and teams. The Soccer-GPA can be utilized in player development, talent identification, scouting, and ranking of the performance of players and teams.
References
Rico Sanz J. (https://www.soccerpsi.com/post/the-soccer-gpa-comprehensive-and-objective-grading-of-technical-and-tactical-match-performance), 2022.
Rico Sanz J. (https://www.soccerpsi.com/post/technical-soccer-gpa-of-attacking-actions-during-the-2021-uefa-champions-league-final), 2022.