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Sport Game Analysis

Game analysis means collecting facts about a match, showing them clearly, and using them to plan better play. Methods include hand tally sheets, video, GPS tracking, heat maps, pass networks and shot-chance models. Strategy is the plan that follows: choose a formation, use the strong areas, protect the weak ones, and test the plan in the next match.

🎬 Step-by-step story

  1. This is a pitch seen from above. The blue team attacks the goal on the right. Each dot is a player.
  2. Tracking: every position of player 8 is recorded. The yellow line is the path he ran.
  3. A heat map: dark red squares are where the player spent the most time.
  4. A passing network: a thick line means many passes between those two players.
  5. Shot chance: close to goal and straight in front is a better chance. Move the ball with the sliders.
  6. Your turn. Pick a formation and a layer, and change the shot spot to test your ideas.

Tip: drag the 3D scene to turn it. Use two fingers to zoom.

🤔 Common doubts, cleared

Why not just watch the match and decide?

Our eyes miss many small things and our memory is biased towards the exciting moments. Counting facts shows the full match.

How can a computer know where a player ran?

A GPS vest or a camera records the position many times a second. Joining the points gives the path, like the yellow line.

Does a dark red square mean the player played well?

No. It only shows where the player spent time. A good player may stay in a small area and still do a lot of work.

What does a thick line in the passing network tell the coach?

That the two players pass to each other a lot. Thin or missing lines may show players who are cut off.

Why is the chance low when I shoot from the side?

From a wide angle the goal looks narrow. The yellow triangle gets thin, so there is less target to hit.

Does changing the formation change the data?

Yes. When players stand in new places the passes, the heat maps and the open areas change. Try the formation list and watch the shape.

Why analyse a game?

Our eyes miss many things in a fast game. Game analysis turns what happened into facts we can check. It helps a team find strengths and weaknesses, helps a player see his or her own work, and helps a coach make a plan. It is also used to study the other team before a match.

Good analysis follows a cycle: ask a question → collect data → show the data → decide a plan → test it in the next match.

Methods: how we collect the data

Notation by hand. A tally sheet with boxes for passes, shots, tackles and mistakes. It is cheap and works for any school match.

Video review. Record the match and watch parts again, slowly. You can pause and mark where players stood.

Tracking. GPS vests or cameras record where every player is many times a second. This gives distance run, speed and the path of each player.

Data can be quantitative (numbers: 12 shots) or qualitative (words: the defence was too slow to close the player). Good analysis uses both.

Showing the data: simple statistics and pictures

Careful: a number alone can fool us. High possession does not always win a match, and a heat map shows where a player was, not how well he played.

Strategy: from facts to a plan

Strategy is the big plan for the match. Tactics are the smaller moves inside it.

A formation is how players are arranged. A 4-4-2 has 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 forwards. A 4-3-3 puts more players in attack and a 3-5-2 puts more in midfield. The best formation depends on your own players and on the other team.

Use the data to decide: if the opponent is weak on its right side, attack there. If your passes keep failing in midfield, add a player there or practise short passing. Then test, measure again and improve. The same ideas work in cricket, basketball, hockey and kabaddi.

Try it: analyse one match

Pick any game on video. Make a tally sheet with four boxes: shots, passes won, passes lost, ball won back. Watch ten minutes and tick. Work out your pass accuracy. Then write one sentence for a plan, such as: we lose the ball in midfield, so we will practise quick short passes.

Key formulas and definitions

Worked examples

1. Team A had the ball for 33 minutes and team B for 27 minutes. What is A's possession?

Total ball time = 33 + 27 = 60 minutes. Possession = 33 ÷ 60 × 100 = 55%.

2. A midfielder tried 50 passes and 42 reached a team-mate. Find the pass accuracy.

42 ÷ 50 × 100 = 84%.

3. A team took 12 shots, 4 were on target and 2 were goals. Find the shot conversion.

Conversion = goals ÷ shots × 100 = 2 ÷ 12 × 100 ≈ 16.7%. (On-target rate is 4 ÷ 12 ≈ 33%.)

4. A GPS vest shows 10.2 km run in 90 minutes. Find the average speed in km/h.

90 minutes = 1.5 hours. Speed = 10.2 ÷ 1.5 = 6.8 km/h.

5. A striker scored 6 goals in 1,350 minutes. Find his goals per 90 minutes.

6 ÷ 1350 × 90 = 0.4 goals per 90 minutes.

6. A team took four shots with chances 0.10, 0.30, 0.05 and 0.50. Find the expected goals. They scored 2. What does this say?

xG = 0.10 + 0.30 + 0.05 + 0.50 = 0.95. They scored 2, more than the 0.95 expected. They were lucky or the finishers were very good, so one match is not enough to be sure.

Common mistakes

Practice quiz

1. A heat map shows:
2. Pass accuracy is:
3. In a 4-4-2 how many forwards play?
4. In a passing network a thick line means:
5. The best order of work is:

Practice: answer these yourself

Type or choose your answer, then press Check. Use a hint if you are stuck; the full solution appears after you answer.

Frequently asked questions

What is game analysis in sport?

It is collecting facts about a match, showing them clearly and using them to improve play and plan tactics.

What is xG in football?

Expected goals. Each shot is given a chance of scoring from its distance and angle. Adding them tells how many goals a team should have scored.

Can I do sport analysis without any machines?

Yes. A notebook with a tally sheet and a recorded video from a phone is enough for a school team.

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