Biology of Sport

The relationship between penetrative actions and football match outcomes: evidence from the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Tao Yang 1, 2
,
Liangzhu Feng 3
,
Dingmeng Ren 1
,
Zhe Cheng 3
,
Xiao Chen 4
,
Yushan Liu 2
,
Hongyou Liu 3

  1. China Football College, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China

  2. School of Physical Education, North Minzu University, Yinchuan, China

  3. Research Center of Sports Performance Analysis, School of Physical Education & Sports Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China

  4. School of Football, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China

Biol Sport. 2026;43:1559–1568

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2026.161107
Data publikacji online: 2026/07/06
Article file
109_05412_Article.pdf
Confronting perimenopausal women’s knowledge of coronary heart disease with their health behaviours. Controversial role of hormone replacement therapy in the protection of coronary heart disease
  1. O’Donoghue P. An introduction to performance analysis of sport. London: Routledge; 2014.
  2. Liu T, Zhou C, Shuai X, Zhang L, Zhou J, Yang L. Influence of different playing styles among the top three teams on action zones in the World Cup in 2018 using a Markov state transition matrix. Front Psychol. 2022; 13:1038733.
  3. Rumpf MC, Silva JR, Hertzog M, Farooq A, Nassis G. Technical and physical analysis of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: winners vs. losers. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. Oct 2017; 57(10):1338–1343.
  4. Taylor JB, Mellalieu SD, James N, Shearer DA. The influence of match location, quality of opposition, and match status on technical performance in professional association football. J Sports Sci. Jul 2008; 26(9):885–95.
  5. Liu H, Gomez MA, Lago-Penas C, Sampaio J. Match statistics related to winning in the group stage of 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup. J Sports Sci. 2015; 33(12):1205–13.
  6. Liu H, Gómez M-A, Gonçalves B, Sampaio J. Technical performance and match-to-match variation in elite football teams. J Sports Sci. 2016; 34(6):509–518.
  7. Sanchez M, Ramirez-Campillo R, Hernandez D, Carretero M, Luis-Pereira JM, Sanchez-Sanchez J. External Loads in Under-12 Players during Soccer-7, Soccer-8, and Soccer-11 Official Matches. Int J Environ Res Public Health. Apr 26 2021; 18(9)
  8. Rennie MJ, Kelly SJ, Bush S, Spurrs RW, Austin DJ, Watsford ML. Phases of match-play in professional Australian Football: Distribution of physical and technical performance. J Sports Sci. Jul 2020; 38(14):1682–1689.
  9. Liu T, Yang L, Chen H, Garcia-de-Alcaraz A. Impact of Possession and Player Position on Physical and Technical-Tactical Performance Indicators in the Chinese Football Super League. Front Psychol. 2021; 12:722200.
  10. Yi Q, Gomez MA, Wang L, Huang G, Zhang H, Liu H. Technical and physical match performance of teams in the 2018 FIFA World Cup: Effects of two different playing styles. J Sports Sci. Nov 2019; 37(22):2569–2577.
  11. Liu H, Hopkins W, Gómez AM, Molinuevo SJ. Inter-operator reliability of live football match statistics from OPTA Sportsdata. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2013; 13(3):803–821.
  12. Wang SH, Qin Y, Jia Y, Igor KE. A systematic review about the performance indicators related to ball possession. PLoS One. 2022; 17(3):e0265540.
  13. McGuigan K, Collins K. Understanding the impact of pitch location on shot outcome in Gaelic football–where is the scoring zone? Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2021; 21(4):491–506.
  14. Bondia IL, González-Rodenas J, Moreno FC, Pérez-Turpin JA, Malavés RA. Creating goal scoring opportunities in elite soccer. Tactical differences between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona. Retos Nuevas Tendencias en Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación. 2017; (32):233–237.
  15. Lupo C, Tessitore A. How Important is the Final Outcome to Interpret Match Analysis Data: The Influence of Scoring a Goal, and Difference Between Close and Balance Games in Elite Soccer: Comment on Lago-Penas and Gomez-Lopez (2014). Percept Mot Skills. Feb 2016; 122(1):280–5.
  16. Passos P, Amaro E Silva R, Gomez-Jordana L, Davids K. Developing a two-dimensional landscape model of opportunities for penetrative passing in association football–Stage I. J Sports Sci. 2020; 38(21):2407–2414.
  17. Gomez-Jordana LI, Amaro ESR, Milho J, Ric A, Passos P. Illustrating changes in landscapes of passing opportunities along a set of competitive football matches. Sci Rep. May 7 2021; 11(1):9792.
  18. Tenga A, Holme I, Ronglan LT, Bahr R. Effect of playing tactics on goal scoring in Norwegian professional soccer. J Sports Sci. 2010; 28(3):237–244.
  19. Tenga A, Holme I, Ronglan LT, Bahr R. Effect of playing tactics on achieving score-box possessions in a random series of team possessions from Norwegian professional soccer matches. J Sports Sci. Feb 2010; 28(3):245–55.
  20. Tenga A, Holme I, Ronglan L, Bahr R. Effects of match location on playing tactics for goal scoring in Norwegian professional soccer. J Sport Behav. 2010; 33(1):89.
  21. FIFA. The FIFA Football Language. Accessed 02–18, 2024. https://www. fifatrainingcentre.com/en/game/ performance-analysis/football-language-analysis/the-fifa-football-language.php
  22. Yan W, Li S, Wang D, Yuan B, Zeng H, Ren D. How to win in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022? A study on the configurations of technical and tactical indicators based on fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Front Psychol. 2024; 14:1307346.
  23. Wei X, Zhao Y, Chen H, Krustrup P, Randers MB, Chen C. Are EFI data valuable? Evidence from the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage. Biol Sport. 2024; 41(1):77–85.
  24. Branquinho L, França E, Teixeira JE, et al. Comparing physical, technical and tactical performances in the World Cup Qatar 2022. J Hum Sport Exerc. 2024; 19(2):654–666.
  25. Bradley PS. ‘Setting the Benchmark’part 2: Contextualising the physical demands of teams in the FIFA world cup Qatar 2022. Biol Sport. 2024; 41(1):271–278.
  26. Bradley PS. ‘Setting the Benchmark’part 1: the contextualised physical demands of positional roles in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Biol Sport. 2024; 41(1):261–270.
  27. Linke D, Link D, Lames M. Football-specific validity of TRACAB’s optical video tracking systems. PloS One. 2020; 15(3):e0230179.
  28. Liu H, Hopkins WG, Gómez M-A. Modelling relationships between match events and match outcome in elite football. Eur J Sport Sci. 2016; 16(5):516–525.
  29. Hopkins WG, Marshall SW, Batterham AM, Hanin J. Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Med Sci Sports Exerc. Jan 2009; 41(1):3–13.
  30. Rein R, Raabe D, Memmert D. “Which pass is better?” Novel approaches to assess passing effectiveness in elite soccer. Hum Mov Sci. 2017; 55:172–181.
  31. Costa ITd, Garganta J, Greco PJ, Mesquita I, Seabra A. Influence of Relative Age Effects and Quality of Tactical Behaviour in the Performance of Youth Soccer Players. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2017; 10(2):82–97.
  32. Clemente FM, Martins FML, Mendes RS, Figueiredo AJ. A systemic overview of football game: the principles behind the game. J Hum Sport Exerc. 2014; 9(2):656–667.
  33. Yi Q, Ruano MÁG, Liu H, Sampaio J. Variation of match statistics and football teams’ match performance in the group stage of the EUFA Champions league from 2010 to 2017. Kinesiology. 2019; 51(2):170–181.
  34. Mao L, Peng Z, Liu H, Gómez M-A. Identifying keys to win in the Chinese professional soccer league. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2016; 16(3):935–947.
  35. Liu H, Yi Q, Giménez J-V, Gómez M-A, Lago-Peñas C. Performance profiles of football teams in the UEFA Champions League considering situational efficiency. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2015; 15(1):371–390.
  36. Bostanci Ö, Mayda MH, Ceylan L, Kaplan A, Satici A, Yazici ÖF. 2016 UEFA European Championship: Pass and shot association. J Hum Sport Exerc. 2018; 13(2):319–327.
  37. Carling C, Williams AM, Reilly T. Handbook of soccer match analysis: A systematic approach to improving performance. 1st Edition ed. London: Routledge; 2007.
  38. Fernandez-Navarro J, Fradua L, Zubillaga A, Ford PR, McRobert AP. Attacking and defensive styles of play in soccer: analysis of Spanish and English elite teams. J Sports Sci. Dec 2016; 34(24):2195–2204.
  39. Zhou C, Zhang S, Lorenzo Calvo A, Cui Y. Chinese soccer association super league, 2012–2017: key performance indicators in balance games. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2018; 18(4):645–656.
  40. Aranda R, González-Ródenas J, López-Bondia I, Aranda-Malavés R, Tudela-Desantes A, Anguera MT. “REOFUT” as an observation tool for tactical analysis on offensive performance in soccer: mixed method perspective. Front Psychol. 2019; 10:1476.
  41. Rein R, Memmert D. Big data and tactical analysis in elite soccer: future challenges and opportunities for sports science. Springerplus. 2016; 5(1):1410.
  42. Tenga A, Kanstad D, Ronglan L, Bahr R. Developing a new method for team match performance analysis in professional soccer and testing its reliability. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2009; 9(1):8–25.
  43. Liu D. Evaluation on match performances of professional football players and teams under different situational conditions. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; 2015.
  44. Gómez MA, Gómez-Lopez M, Lago C, Sampaio J. Effects of game location and final outcome on game-related statistics in each zone of the pitch in professional football. Eur J Sport Sci. 2012; 12(5):393–398.
  45. Hughes M, Franks I. Analysis of passing sequences, shots and goals in soccer. J Sports Sci. May 2005; 23(5):509–14.
  46. Tenga A, Ronglan LT, Bahr R. Measuring the effectiveness of offensive match-play in professional soccer. Eur J Sport Sci. 2010; 10(4):269–277.
  47. Tenga A, Mortensholm A, O’Donoghue P. Opposition interaction in creating penetration during match play in elite soccer: evidence from UEFA champions league matches. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2017; 17(5):802–812.
  48. Gonzalez-Rodenas J, Lopez-Bondia I, Calabuig F, Pérez-Turpin JA, Aranda R. The effects of playing tactics on creating scoring opportunities in random matches from US Major League Soccer. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2015; 15(3):851–872.
  49. Lago-Ballesteros J, Lago-Peñas C, Rey E. The effect of playing tactics and situational variables on achieving score-box possessions in a professional soccer team. J Sports Sci. 2012; 30(14):1455–1461.
  50. Seabra F, Dantas LE. Space definition for match analysis in soccer. Int J Perform Anal Sport. 2006; 6(2):97–113.
Copyright: Institute of Sport. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
SUBMIT YOUR PAPER
Share
without publication fees
Integrated with
Editorial Policies
Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Publications