A comparative analysis of technical and tactical performance of male and female football teams in elite competitions

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A Comparative analysis of the
physical, technical and tactical
performance leading to goals scored
in elite male and female football
competition.
Leeds Beckett University.Carnegie Faculty.
Submitted in part fulfilment of the degree, BSc (Hons)
Sports Coaching.
Jonathon Robert Holden (33238252)

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Declaration
I confirm that this Major Independent Study constitutes my own work. I confirm that
the text of the submission does not exceed the upper word limit of 10,000 words.
Student (Print Name) ………………………………………………………………
Signed ………………………………………………………………
Date ………………………………………………………………
Supervisor ……………………………………………………………...
Date ……………………………………………………………..

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Contents
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ 5
List of Appendices......................................................................................................................... 6
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... 7
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................8
Introduction.................................................................................................................................9
Aims and Objectives of this study............................................................................................. 10
Literature Review ....................................................................................................................... 11
Attacking Strategies................................................................................................................ 11
Physical Comparison............................................................................................................... 13
Technical and Tactical Comparison........................................................................................... 15
Method...................................................................................................................................... 18
Ethical Approval...................................................................................................................... 18
Subjects................................................................................................................................. 18
Match Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 18
Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 20
Results....................................................................................................................................... 22
How many goals were scored?................................................................................................. 22
How were these goals scored?................................................................................................. 22
Where were these goals scoredfrom?..................................................................................... 23
How and where was the ball won?........................................................................................... 24
How did they work their way in to position to score?................................................................ 25
When were the goals scored?.................................................................................................. 26
How did the goals scored effect the state of the game? ............................................................ 27
Discussion.................................................................................................................................. 28
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 33
References................................................................................................................................. 35
Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 40
Appendix One......................................................................................................................... 40
Appendix Two......................................................................................................................... 41
Appendix Three ...................................................................................................................... 42
Appendix Four........................................................................................................................ 43

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Appendix Five......................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix 6............................................................................................................................. 48
Appendix Seven...................................................................................................................... 52
Appendix Eight....................................................................................................................... 53
Appendix Nine........................................................................................................................ 54
Appendix Ten ......................................................................................................................... 55
Appendix Eleven..................................................................................................................... 56
Appendix Twelve .................................................................................................................... 57
Appendix Thirteen .................................................................................................................. 58
Word Count: 9,660

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List of Tables
Table 1 – Table showing number of games played, goals scored, goal per game
ratio and average distance of goals scored by male and female football teams.
Table 1.2 – Table showing how goals were scored by both teams, including
statistics on distribution of left, right and headed goals and the techniques used.
Table 1.3 – Table showing data collected regarding the location in the net where
goals were scored by both teams.
Table 2 – Table showing where possession was won and how it was won by both
teams.
Table 3 – Table showing data collected on the number of players involved,
number of touches on the ball and the average pass length in the build-up to a
goal. This table also shows where the final ball distribution was made from.
Table 4 – Table showing when goals were scored during the duration of the
game.
Table 4.2 – This table shows the match state prior to and post goals being
scored.

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List of Appendices
Appendix 1 - Notational Analysis Tool
Appendix 2 - Pitch Channels
Appendix 3 - Goal Area
Appendix 4 – Goal Location
Appendix 5 – Male Notation Data
Appendix 6 – Female Notation Data
Appendix 7 – Male Goal Area Data
Appendix 8 – Female Goal Area Data
Appendix 9 – Male Goal Location Data
Appendix 10 – Female Goal Location Data
Appendix 11 – Thirds of a Pitch
Appendix 12 – Male Team Formation
Appendix 13 – Female Team Formation
Appendix 14 – Leeds Beckett University Ethics Forms
Appendix 15 – Meeting Minutes Forms

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Acknowledgements
My thanks firstly go to my friends, especially; Alex Hindwood, Jack Banks and John
Bentley, who throughout my time, especially my final year at university, have always
supported me and been there for reassurance throughout.
I would like to thank my M.I.S supervisor, Stephen McKeown for his endless support,
enthusiasm and knowledge on my topic.
Thanks to every single player and staff member who I have the pleasure of working
with at Leeds Beckett University Football Club and Bradford City Women’s Football
Club for providing the inspiration for this research. It would be a huge
understatement to say that, without working with these players, none of what I have
learnt at university would have been meaningful. To those players who have
contributed directly to my university work I am even more grateful.
I would also like to personally thank John Hall and Chris Welburn, who without I
wouldn’t have been involved with the university football programme and would not
have been able to achieve what I have so far as a coach. Both have been assessors
on my FA coaching courses and been incredibly inspirational and motivating, as well
as being incredible role models.
Finally I would like to thank Laura Gadd, without who I would probably have stopped
working on this research project. She is someone who is always there for me and
has always believed in me.

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Abstract
The popularity and professionalism of women’s football (soccer) continues to grow
all over the globe in the build up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada 2015.
With players being able to earn more from their footballing contracts than the
expenses they incur, putting them in to professional or semi-professional status. With
increased research in to the physical comparisons within male and female versions
of the game in existence, this study aims to present the technical and tactical
differences in the game too. This study identified the differences in attacking
strategies that lead to goals (n=66) created by two elite football teams. All the games
analysed were regular season games (n=24) played at the home ground of the two
teams being observed. One of the teams being analysed is a professional female
football team, while the other is a professional male football team. Both teams
finished first in their respective leagues in the season prior to this study being
conducted in April 2015. From the data compiled it is apparent that at present the
women’s game is far more technical and tactical opposed to the physical nature of
the male game. The build up to goals in the female game is slower and longer in
duration, allowing for more touches on the ball, more passes and more players to be
involved. It has also shown a stark contrast in the methods used by male and female
player to gain possession of the ball and the areas of the pitch for them to attempt to
do so. The number of goals scored by successful male and female teams is similar
over the course of 12 competitive league games. The average difference in distance
from goal for men to score from is .5m further away than goals scored by the female
team.

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Introduction
Analysis of football games has received great attention over the last decade or so.
The results of this analysis has been utilised by coaches for the planning of weekly
training sessions, their annual goals and informing their coaching philosophies. The
objective of analysis is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of a team or an
individual (Carling, Williams, & Reilly 2005). In this instance two teams have been
analysed to determine the difference in strategies used by elite male and female
football teams. The attacking strategies of many teams from all over the world have
been analysed, however predominately using male football teams in their samples.
Scoring goals is a rarity in football and given that they are the key statistic that
determines the outcome of a game, it is vital that teams are able to create them.
Goal scoring has received extensive attention in scientific research (Hughes &
Franks, 2005 and Tenga et al 2010). Armatas & Yiannakos (2010) reported that in
almost 70% of matches, the team scoring the first goal, goes on to win the game.
There is still a lack of scientific research published on the attacking strategies
employed in women’s football. The technical, tactical and physical attributes of male
and female footballers differ, Kirkendall et al, (2002). Mara et al, (2012) have
analysed the attacking strategies implemented by Australian W-League sides in 34
league games. The outcome of their research showed the differences in the
approaches taken by the most successful and the least successful teams in the
league over the course of a season. While Kirkendall et al, (2002) have compared
male and female strategies used at the 1998 and 1999 FIFA World Cup tournaments
in France and Brazil respectively. However the development of women’s football
over the last 16 years has been immeasurable, with the creation of ‘professional’
leagues for female’s in their early years all over the world. The Football Association
Women’s Super League (FA WSL) being introduced in England in 2010 when there
were just 8 founding teams. There are now 18 sides with licences to play in the two
tiered FA WSL in 2015, while the majority of the sides remaining semi-professional.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States of America was
founded in 2012 following the demise of the Women’s Premier Soccer league, due to
financial reasons. While in the US, national team players are distributed evenly to

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each of the 8 member teams and are paid by the national governing bodies.
Statistics from The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA 2013) show that
women’s football is one of the fastest growing team sports in the world, with some
nations reporting increases of 511% in registered players over a five year period
leading up to the study being conducted. While the English ‘Game Changer’ strategy
has enhanced the funding in the female game in the country to £15M, the Football
Association still makes no mention of the differences in the male and female game in
either its coaching manual (FA 2014) or its Future Game document (FA 2010). There
is a severe lack of research done to compare elite male and female football, only
Bradley et al, (2014) have directly compared elite footballers previously.
Aims and Objectives of this study
This new research has specifically looked at the differences in: The position on the
field that possession of the ball is won, the number of individuals involved in the
build-up to a goal being scored, the number of touches each player has, the number
of ball distributions made, where the final ball distribution is made from, where the
shot on goal leading to a goal scored is made from, where in the goal the ball
crosses the goal line, the length of time passed from possession being won to a goal
being scored, the time of the goal and the state of the game pre and post goal being
scored. To ensure this study is as relevant as possible, both teams used are playing
at the highest level possible in club football. The study has assessed games played
in home league fixtures only to ensure that the reliability and validity of data recorded
is not affected by changes in the size of the pitch. The results from this study have
been generated with coaches in mind, to help highlight the key physical, technical
and tactical differences in male and female football. This information should not be
taken as being solely for football coaches, as other invasion sports such as rugby,
basketball and hockey may also have similar differences to those brought to light in
this study. The results of this study aim to help coaches create attacking strategies
based on the key physical, technical and tactical differences in male and female elite
football. The study also aims to define the development of female football in line with
that of male football.

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Literature Review
In order to compile this literature review, a systematic compilation of relative
research has been compiled using; Sport Discus, PubMed, Discover and Google
Scholar. Journals with key terms such as; gender differences in sport, attacking
strategies and soccer match analysis were located using these databases and were
narrowed down using date published to locate the most recent and up to date
studies in the related areas for this research project.
Attacking Strategies
The ability to score goals has a huge bearing on overall success levels, teams in
several of the world’s top leagues (English Premier League, Spanish Premiera and
the German Bundesliga) shows that those who score the most goals finish higher up
the league table. Teams at the top of the league were able to score 2 goals per
game on average while those at the bottom are only able to average 1 per game.
This is also the case for women’s teams competing in elite level competitions (Mara
et al 2012). To enhance their ability to score goals teams often create attacking
strategies with the intent of producing moments more likely to produce a goal
(Luhtanen et al, 2001). However, Cordes et al, (2012) suggested that coaches rarely
spend time comparing actual performance to that planned prior to the game, instead
opting to provide general feedback to the team. These attacking strategies are often
specific to the position on the pitch where possession is won and where the attacking
team wish to position the ball in order to create goal scoring opportunities (Horn et al,
2002). Again the quality of the team usually determines the areas of the pitch they
choose to exploit, Mara et al, (2012) found that the teams finishing in the top
positions scored most of their goals by attacking from the left, the mid-table teams
attacking from the right and the least successful teams attacked through the middle.
The type, length, height and direction of ball distribution is a vital factor in the
effectiveness in a team’s attacking strategy (Taylor et al, 2005 & Leite et al, 2009).
Mara et, al. (2012) analysed the strategies employed by teams in the Australian W-
League in 34 games, which showed that 24% of goals scored over the course of the
league season by all of the teams involved were the result of a cross in open play

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and that 26% of corners taken directly led to a shot on target. This would suggest
that crossing is a fundamental part of the game and should be a key aspect of
successful teams play. This research was conducted on the Australian national
women’s league, The W-League, which was established in 2008. This league is
dominated by Australian players, with the Australian national team sitting 10th in the
world. This could question the quality of play being analysed by the researchers.
With women’s football increasing in stature and quality since 2012 when the
research was completed, the validity of this study at present is now questionable. In
analysing the attacking strategies of the 8 teams in the league in 2010/11 they
looked at all the games played in the league on all grounds throughout the country.
The amount of travel teams making to play in away games could have a significant
effect on their strategy in attack. The research does not discuss the formations used
by the teams either, this could also dictate the strategy they use to create goal-
scoring opportunities. The size of the pith being played is also not considered and
therefor this could affect the areas in which teams choose to attack from. Should a
pitch be narrow they would have less opportunity to play the ball in to the right or left
wing areas. Taylor et al. (2005) & Leite et al. (2009) both also suggested that the
area of the pitch in which possession of the ball is used is key to goal-scoring.
Teams who operate in the wide areas and manage to deliver a cross in to the central
area promote goal-scoring opportunities. Published research by Hughes & Franks
(2005) and Yiannakos & Armatas (2006) focusses on the comparisons between
direct (using long passes) and possession play (using shorter passes). This research
examined the relative success of these two different approaches to the game and
recommended that direct play was most effective in creating a goal-scoring
opportunity. However analysis from the 2011 Women’s World Cup suggests that the
long ball no longer has a place in the game according to FIFA (2011), yet this
approach was very effective in the 2014 Under 20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA
(2014). The differences in the U20’s ability to be successful through the long, direct
passing approach highlights the lack of ability to read the game, due to less
experienced players in comparison to those playing in the senior competition. It
could also be a sign that the game is changing and the physical capabilities of
female players is increasing and therefor allowing players to hit long, direct passes
that are now more effective due to the pace of the pass. Lago (2009) suggested that
teams often change the style of play during a game depending on the game

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situation, whether they were winning, losing or drawing. Teams retain possession of
the ball for longer periods, possession play, while losing in an attempt to dictate play.
This is opposed to when winning or drawing, these teams are more inclined to play
‘direct play’ as they are happy to counter attack their opposition, Bloomfield et al.
(2005), Jones et al. (2004) and Lago and Martin (2007). The attacking strategies of
many teams from all over the world have been analysed, however predominately
using male football teams in their samples. There is still a lack of scientific research
published on the attacking strategies employed in women’s football. The technical,
tactical and physical attributes of male and female footballers differ, Kirkendall et al.
(2002). This research suggests that the majority of goals scored in men’s football
were a direct result of set plays in contrast to women’s, where a large proportion of
goals scored were from open play. While research has been done on the
effectiveness of direct free-kicks in women’s football by Alcock (2010), little has been
done on the open play strategies.
Physical Comparison
While there are distinct differences in the intensity in which the men’s and women’s
games are played, the nature of the game, in terms of work-rest ratios, and
proportion of time spent moving at several different intensities is very similar
between men and women (Andersson et al. 2010, Gabbett & Mulvey 2008 and
Gabbett et al. 2012). Football has been characterised as a physical game defined by
athlete’s ability to perform high-intensity bouts of movement following longer periods
of low intensity movement, (Gabbett, Carius&Mulvey 2008 and Bradley et. al, 2013).
FIFA (2011) and Bradley et al, (2013) both suggest that female players are unable to
produce high levels of sprinting ability. The average distance sprinted at maximal
velocity in the 2011 Women’s World Cup was just 55m. This equates to just 0.5% of
the game time spent at maximum speed. Whereas men in the 2010 World Cup were
able to spend 5.1% of the time at top speed (FIFA 2010). However these figures
could be argued to be unfair as the sprint speed used for both groups were the
same, meaning female players had to reach the same speed as their male
counterparts to be considered to be sprinting. Lepers, Knechtle& Stapley (2013)
found that in the 2012 London Olympic Triathlon event that the average time

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difference over a 10km run was 12.3% in favour of males. While in cycling the time
difference over ranging distances from 100m to 2000m is 11% in favour of males
according to Schumacher, Mueller and Keul (2001).Baumgart, Hoppe &Freiwald
(2014) found that there is a difference of 11.3% and 31.6% in incremental and
interval shuttle run testing between male and female soccer players in Germany.
They also noted that the gender differences increased when the training was
intermittent and non-linear. With football being characterised as a physical game
where physical performance is measured by the distance covered in a game and an
athlete’s ability to perform short periods of high intensity, high velocity movement,
between longer periods of moderate to low speed running. So by using the same
speed variables to determine running intensity for male and female soccer players
could be seen as unfavourable to females. Baumgart et al (2014) used a male team
from division four of the national league to compare against a division one female
side, this was due to the similarity of training schedules to allow the tests to be
deemed fair. However a comparison of the most elite female footballers in Germany
could have been compared to the most elite male teams, this would have given a
better representation of the standard of elite women’s football in the country. The
tests run did allow for the assumed differences in physical ability between male and
females. The researchers allowed the female athletes to start at a slower speed than
the males in their incremental tests, however the increase in speeds were the same
for both. This would mean that the relative increase in pace for women would be
higher than that of their male comparisons. The tests were also done on different
days, the researchers noted a difference of seven degrees Celsius and 15% in
humidity on the two separate occasions. They failed to note in the article which
athletes had the benefit of the favourable conditions for their tests. While Datson et
al, (2014) state that women’s physical performance can be effected by their stage of
the menstrual cycle, something again the Baumgart et al study does not take in to
account.
As women train and compete at all stages of their menstrual cycle, the possible
effect on performance should be considered. These effects have received a limited
amount of research attention and the findings to date have been unclear. (Datson et
al, 2014)
Pankhurst & Collins (2013) stated that the technical ability of an athlete is limited by
their physical development. The world records for 100m and 200m sprints for

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females has stood since 1988 while the male world records have been broken on
several occasions since then and most recently set in 2009 according to IAAF data
(http://www.iaaf.org/records/by-category/world-records). If the statement from
Pankhurst and Collins be considered fact then the inability of females to develop
over short sprint distances is holding back their ability to perform technically at the
elite level in football. Data collected by Vescovi & Favero (2014) provides evidence
that Division One players in the American college system have similar outputs in all
the speed bands used to analyse the movements of players regardless of whether
the complete the whole game, substituted on or substituted off. Coaches in this
league have an unlimited number of substitutions, in the second half, available to
them and players are free to leave and re-enter the same game after a substitution.
Carling et al, (2009) reported no difference in the work rates, of French first division
players, for second half substitutes in comparison to the players they had replaced in
the game. However an analysis completed by Bradley et al (2013) showed a
significant difference in both total distance covered, 117m/minute to 109m/minute,
and high intensity movement, 33m/minute to 23m/minute by players substituted on
compared to those playing a complete game.
Technical and Tactical Comparison
While a footballer has a requirement to have an all-round ability to move at varying
speeds, the game is more than just a physical contest (Gabbett, Carius & Mulvey
2008). Football is also a test of technical and psychological skill and an athlete’s
ability to perform under pressure and fatigue (Abernethy & Russell1987). Bradley et.
al (2013) suggested that the total time in possession of the ball, the total number of
touches and the duels won is was the same for players in the male and female
game. However it did suggest that male footballers have a better pass completion
and lost possession less often than females of a similar standard of competition.
Success at the 2010 FIFA World Cup depended on team’s abilities to intercept
passes and make tackles to recover possession of the ball, Barreira et al, (2013) and
Delgado-Bordonau(2013) stated team’s attacking ability was more important than the
quality of their defending in the same tournament. However they stated that the more
successful teams, those who reached the knock out stages, weren’t able to develop

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their attacking qualities yet their defensive ability declined as the tournament
continued. Teams in this tournament also paid a high price on possession and this
was successful as the teams who had most possession were able to win more often
than their opponents (FIFA 2010). Whereas in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil teams
with less possession were able to win 21 games (FIFA 2014). This was in large part
down to their ability to counter attack, FIFA (2011) stated that female footballers
weren’t able to counter attack due to the lack of explosive movements female
players are able to generate. While these study’s all discuss the strategies of
international male football in tournament play. Barreira et al, (2013) showed there
was a significant difference in the ball retrieval methods used by the most successful
teams from the group matches to the knock-out phase of the same tournament.
‘A notational analysis system has not been developed to evaluate the technical and
tactical skill of a player in order to determine its importance in scoring goals during a
soccer game. In fact, for an observer (usually the coach), the traditional method of
assessing skill and its importance in a game has been to watch a game and make
subjective conclusions about the individuals’ or team’s performance.’ (Thomas et al,
2009)
This research analysed individual skills performed over ten games for one college
football team in the United States of America. The results showed that on average
45% of the skills executed by players were defensively linked, yet the team being
assessed conceded just three goals in the ten game period under investigation and
averaged 2.3 goals per game scored by the team in question. The researchers
suggested that dribbling was the most important skill in the game, however only 8%
of games were spent by players dribbling with the ball and that defensive skills were
the least important in the game. Given the time spent by players performing these
types of skills it is hard to determine if these comments would be a fair assumption.
As coaches they may believe that defending is the least important aspect of the
game they need to work on as a team due to their excellent defensive record. Given
the small sample size of players analysed and that it was limited to one team’s style
of play it is impossible to generalise from the nature of this study.
There is a key difference between the genders at this age group, with female players
able to achieve success through the long ball up to the forward players, while male
players rely on individuals or counter attacks through midfield to create goal scoring
opportunities, FIFA (2014) and FIFA (2012). However the 2012 London Olympic

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tournament for men did include players over the age group as per FIFA’s ruling on
junior tournaments. The women’s 2012 Olympics were won again by USA, the fourth
time in the five occasions that women’s football has featured on the Olympic
calendar. FIFA (2012) suggested that the USA were able to heavily rely on the
individual brilliance of Carli Llyod, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan to create
openings while other teams worked together cohesively to build up play using a
variety of attacking strategies and formations. The report from the Olympics showed
that each team now clearly has its own playing philosophy, as opposed to previous
tournaments, where teams would change styles of play from game to game. In all
three of the last major Women’s tournaments the majority of goals have come from
wing play (FIFA 2011, 2012 & 2014), compounding the importance of the research
complied by Mara et al, (2012). However the work of Thomas et al, (2009) cannot be
over looked when taking the importance of dribbling in to account. The lack of work
produced on women’s football globally means there is currently no data to tell us
how the ball was worked to the wing for the goals to be scored in the first place.
Wingers are renowned for their ability to travel at pace with the ball, especially in the
men’s game (Giggs, Robben, Ronaldo and Bale). Zubilagaet, al. (2013) identified the
influence of the position of the ball in team shape for Spanish women’s football
teams. This research used GPS tracking technology to analyse the position of
players in relation to the position of the ball at any given time in games. They were
able to establish the shape and size of the pitch being used during different phases
of play. From this coaches are able to determine the technical and tactical skills
players need in these moments of the game. This study did not make note of the
size of the pitch the six games was being played on or whether this was the same for
the whole study. This research may have been limited to one playing area and the
playing surface may also have an effect on this, the study does not say whether the
game was played on grass or an artificial surface. Research conducted by
Konstadinidou & Tsigilis (2005) suggested that teams who are able to make crosses
in to the mid-section of the receivers body, between the knee and shoulder, were
more successful than crosses of any other height. This would suggest that women’s
footballers are less likely to head the ball and prefer to control the ball before having
a shot at goal.

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Method
Ethical Approval
Before this research commenced all ethical approval requirements were passed in
accordance with Leeds Beckett University ethic’s processes. (See Appendix 14)
Subjects
Notational analysis coded all goals scored (n=36) in home games by two
professional football teams, one male and one female. The female team played 12
home games while the male team played 19, therefore only the games played
against the next best 12 teams have been analysed for this study. The two teams
that have been chosen in this study both won their respective leagues in the
season’s ending in 2014. All ball distributions, individual ball touches, set pieces and
shots have been coded from the time possession of the ball was won to the point the
ball crossing the goal line. The performance analysis also includes where on the field
possession was won and how it was regained by the team.
Match Analysis
Games publically broadcast for both teams were analysed using a hand notational
analysis system designed specifically for this study Appendix 1. The analysis was
compiled by an experienced data analyst who has experience in coaching both male
and female football of a high level. The observations were made in lapsed-time and
the analyst was permitted to pause, stop or rewind the footage at any time to
increase the accuracy of the date being coded, Bloomfield et al (2004). The variables
used in this study describe the attacking strategy produced by the attacking team
from possession being gained to the goal type. The variables used and the
associated definitions are outlined below.
Definitions:
 Games Played – The total number of games analysed from each of the teams
being used in the study.
 Goals Scored – The total number of goals scored in all games played by each
of the teams being used in the study.

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 Goals:Game – The average number of goals scored per game each of the
teams played.
 Average Goal Distance – The average distance from goal the ball was last
struck by the goals scorer before the goal was scored.
 Average Goal Distance* - The average distance from goal the ball was last
struck by the goal scorer before the goal was scored, minus those goals
scored as a direct result of a penalty.
 Player:Goal - The average number of different individual players involved
from the time possession is won to a goal being scored.
 Touch:Goal – The average number of individual touches on the ball from the
time possession is won to a goal being scored. This number is inclusive of the
final touch before the ball is deemed to have crossed the goal line for a goal.
 Ball Distribution:Goal – The average number of distributions made from the
time possession is won to a goal being scored. This does not include the final
distribution from the goal scorer.
 Average Pass Length – The average length of pass made from the time
possession is won to a goal being scored.
 Average Goal Duration – The average length of time that has elapsed from
the moment possession is won to a goal being scored.
Attacking Strategy: This is broken down into where the ball is won, how the ball is
won and the ball distribution type leading up to a goal being scored by the attacking
team in possession of the ball.
Ball Distribution: This describes the movement the ball travels thorough leading up
to a goal being scored.
 Pass - intentional transfer of the ball from one player to another on the same
team.
 Cross - Intentional transfer of the ball from one player to another on the same
team, from a wide zone (Left or Right) to the central zone inside the penalty
area.
 Free Kick - The method of restarting play after a foul has been committed.
 Corner - The method of restarting play if the defending team touches the ball
last and the ball goes out of play beyond the by-line.
 Throw in - The method of restarting play if the defending team touches the
ball last and the ball goes out of play beyond the side-line.
 Final Ball – The last ball transfer made to the individual who scores the goal.
Pass/Cross type: The method in which the intentional pass/cross is made from one
player to another.
 Conventional: distribution made with the inside of either foot that stays below
knee height.
 Driven: distribution made with the laces of either foot that travels below waist
height.
 Lofted: distribution made with the laces of either foot that travels above waist
height.
 Swerved: distribution made with the inside of either foot that bends, from left
to right or right to left, as it travels from one player to the next.

20 | P a g e
 Left – The final ball distribution, to the goal scorer, was from the left wing
area. See Appendix 2.
 Right – The final ball distribution, to the goal scorer, was from the right wing
 Centre – The final ball distribution, to the goal scorer, was from the central
Goal Type: This is broken down in to many areas including the part of the body
used, the way in which this body part is used and the area from which a goal was
scored, intentionally or not.
 Left Foot– The goal was scored using the left leg/foot of the last individual, of
the attacking team, to touch the ball before a goal was scored.
 Right Foot – The goal was scored using the right leg/foot of the last individual,
of the attacking team, to touch the ball before a goal was scored.
 Head – The goal was scored using the head of the last individual, of the
attacking team, to touch the ball before a goal was scored.
 Inside – The inside of the foot was used to direct the ball in to the goal.
 Laced – The top section of the foot was used to direct the ball in to the goal.
 Glanced – The ball was deflected in to, using the pace of the ball distribution,
the goal by the goal scorers head.
 Driven – The goal scorer applied power to the ball, using their head, to direct
the ball in to the goal.
 Goal Time – The amount of time passed in the game from kick-off to the point
of the goal being scored.
 Goal Area – The area of the net in which the ball is placed for a goal to be
given. See appendix 3
 Goal Location –The area on the pitch from which the goal was scored from.
See appendix 4
Data Analysis
All data has been analysed using Microsoft Excel (Version 2010 for Windows, USA).
The software was used to produce total and average figures for the various aspects
of the data collected through the hand notational analysis of the technical and
tactical performanceAppendix 5 - Male and Appendix 6 – Female. The analysis has
examined the differences in the number of passes, players involved and the number
of individual touches on the ball by those players from the moment possession of the
ball has been won to the moment a goal was scored by the attacking team. Data has
also been recorded to understand where on the pitch the ball was won, how the ball
has been won and the area from which the final ball distribution was made before a
shot was made that lead to a goal being scored. An examination of each goal has

21 | P a g e
been to establish the location the shot was taken from and the area of the net the
goal was scored in.

22 | P a g e
Results
How many goals were scored?
The data collected showed that the teams scored 66 goals between them in the 24
games that were analysed. Both teams failed to score in one game each, this
resulted in a 0-0 draw for the female team while the male team went on to record a
0-1 defeat. The male team scored a total of 36 goals and 3 goals per game, while
the female team scored 30 at an average of 2.5 per game for the 12 games they
played. This is a difference of 16% in favour of the male team over the female side.
Table 1
Male Female
Goal Data
Games Played 12 12
Goals Scored 36 30
Goals:Game 3 2.5
Average Goal Distance 11.61 11.33
Average Goal Distance* 11.71 11.21
How were these goals scored?
Table 1.2
Male Female
How Scored
Right Foot 24 22
Left Foot 9 3
Head 3 5
Technique
Inside 20 16
Laced 13 19
Glanced 1 4
Driven 2 1
Analysis shows that these goals were scored in a variety of different ways by each of
the two teams, these included the use of left and right feet and the head. Males
scored 24 goals using their right foot (66.6%), 9 with their left foot (25%) and 3 with

23 | P a g e
their head (8.3%). Females scored 22 goals with their right foot (73%), 3 with their
left foot (10%) and 5 with their head (17%). From those goals scored with their feet,
20 were scored with the inside of the foot (60.60%) my male players and 16 goals
were scored using the same technique by female players (45.71%). While male
players scored 66.66% of their headers by driving the ball at goal as opposed to just
16.66% of female players scoring a header in this way. Appendix 7 – Male
&Appendix 8 - Female shows a breakdown of all the goals scored by giving an
overview of where the goals were scored in relation to the goal area itself by both
male and female teams respectively, this information has also been presented in
table 1.3. The female side were able to score 70% of their goals in the corners of the
goal, while the male side scored just 57.14% of their goals in the same four zones.
This means just 30% of goals scored by the female sides were placed in the 5 other
zones of the goal as opposed to the 42.85% scored in the same areas by the male
side.
Table 1.3
Goal Area Male Female
Corners
Top Left 2 2
Top Right 1 2
Bottom Left 8 8
Bottom Right 9 9
Other
Top Centre 3 4
Right Centre 1 0
Centre 4 5
Bottom Centre 7 0
Left Centre 1 0
Total 36 30
Where were these goals scored from?
Table 1 shows that including penalties scored (Total 7 – Male:2, Female:5) the
average distance from goal that the shot leading to a goal scored was 11.61 yards
compared to 11.33 yards respectively, a difference of just 2.41%. However when
penalties scored are removed from the analysis, these distances do change in
contrasting ways. The average distance for males increases to 11.71 while females

24 | P a g e
score from a distance of 11.21 yards on average from open play. Appendix 9 shows
the areas from which goals were scored from by the male team, while Appendix 10
shows the goals from the female team. This shows that 94.44% of goals scored by
the male team are from central areas of the penalty box, while in the same zone the
female side scored 83.33% of their goals. The male side scored 7 goals from outside
the penalty area (19.44%) as opposed to 5 (16.66%) by the female team.
How and where was the ball won?
Table 2 shows a synthesis of the data collected using appendix 11 that explore the
way in which the two teams win the ball back that lead to the period of play building
up to a goal being scored. These show that there is large difference in the area of
the pitch and the method used to win the ball back between the two sides. With the
male team winning possession more often in the attacking third 57.14% of the time in
the build-up to their 36 goals while the female side regained possession 46.66% in
defence and 43.33% in midfield in the process of scoring goals. The male side were
able to regain possession through winning a tackle 33.33% of the time while females
won possession through interceptions more often than any other method, doing this
63.33% of the time.
Table 2
Male Female
HowBall Won
Tackle 12 2
Interception 13 19
Foul 5 2
DeadBall 6 7
Where Ball Won
Defence 5 14
Midfield 11 13
Attack 20 3

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How did they work their way in to position to score?
In the build-up to goals the female team had more interactions with the ball than the
male side, using an average of 5.43 different players in the process of scoring as
opposed to 2.72 by the male side. This also has an impact on the number of passes
per goal with just 1.75 passes being made in the average goal by the male side as
opposed to 5.77 by the female team to create a goal. With more passes and
individuals involved for the female side this meant more individual touches on the
ball per goal for the female side with 17.87 touches compared to 5.47 for the males.
With extra players and additional touches on the ball, this has meant significant
differences in the time taken from winning the ball, to scoring. The average time
taken for goals scored in the female game was 40.17 seconds. The male team were
able to score much quicker, in an average time of 8.89 seconds from winning the
ball. Data produced also showed differences in the area the final ball distribution to
the goal scorer came from. This showed that the final ball distribution for the male
sides came from the centre on 72.22% of the time while from the right and left it was
11.11% and 16.67% respectively. While for the female sides the final ball distribution
was from the right on 50% of occasions, 36.67% of goals came from the left and just
13.33% from the centre of the pitch.

26 | P a g e
Table 3
Male Female
Build Up
Players:Goal 2.72 5.43
Touches:Goal 5.47 17.87
Passes:Goal 1.75 5.57
Average PassLength 15.91 14.87
Average Goal Duration 8.89 40.17
Final Ball
Left 6 11
Right 4 15
Centre 26 4
When were the goals scored?
The times of goals scored also proved contrasting, with the male team scoring 9
goals in the opening half an hour of games compare to 5 for the female team. The
last 15 minutes of the first half lead to 8 goals for the male side as opposed to just 5
for the female team. The 15 minutes straight after half time also allowed for more
goals for the male side, scoring 9 compared to the 7 by the female side. However the
final 15 minutes of normal time allowed the female team to score 11 goals in
comparison to the male side. The two teams both scored 2 goals each in time added
on to the 90. This meant a combined 17 goals in the first half in the men’s game
compared to just 10 in those games played by the female team, a difference of
41.14%. While in the second half, including time added on, the female side scored
20 goals compared to the 19 scored by the male side, representing a difference of
5.26 in favour of the female team.
Table 4
Goal Time Male Female
First Half
0-15 6 2
16-30 3 3
31-45 8 5
Second Half
45-60 9 7
61-75 5 5
76-90 3 6
90+ 2 2
Total 36 30

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How did the goals scored effect the state of the game?
Table 4.2 shows the effect the goals scored by each of the teams had on the state of
the game. The mens team were able to add to their lead on 21 occasions, take the
lead on 13 and score in response to being behind on 2 occasions. This mean that
they were able to score 34 goals that gave or extended their lead 34 times, with just
2 goals they scored meant they were only in a drawing position and that they never
scored a goal that meant they were still in a losing position. The female side scored
14 times when winning games, 11 while drawing and 5 when behind in games. This
meant they were also able to add to their lead or create a goal lead on 25 occasions
and brought themselves back in to contention for the win on 5. Again they were
never more than a goal behind as they didn’t score a goal that meant they were still
behind in any of the games they scored in.
Table 4.2
Match State Male Female
Pre Goal
Winning 21 14
Drawing 13 11
Losing 2 5
PostGoal
Winning 34 25
Drawing 2 5
Losing 0 0

28 | P a g e
Discussion
This study identified the key physical, technical and tactical differences that led to
goals scored in elite male and female football. Kirkendall et al, (2002) have
previously stated that there are definitive differences in the technical, tactical and
physical attributes of male and female footballers. A key finding of the study was the
time taken from winning the ball to scoring was much longer in the female game than
in goals scored by the male team. The results of data collected showed that more
players were involved in the build-up to goals being scored and each player was able
to have more touches on the ball in games played by the female team. The average
pass length was similar, with a difference of 1.04 meters longer for male players. All
these contributing factors meant that the time it took the female team to score a goal
on average was in excess of forty seconds, compared to the male side who were
able to win the ball and score in less than nine. This shows that there is a physical
limitation on their ability, female players aren’t strong enough to make passes as
long as their male counterparts, and therefor make more passes of a shorter
distance to make up for this. This in turn means more players have to be involved in
each goal, creating more touches on the ball in the process and slowing the game
down. The Women’s World Cup in Germany proved that women’s football was now
world class according to FIFA (2011). This report showed that long, direct passing
was no longer an effective strategy. Taylor et al, (2005) and Leite et al, (2009) both
acknowledge the ball distribution methods used by attacking teams as the single
most influential factor on their attacking strategy. This is clear in the way that this
female team has set up to play the game, making short passes, building play from
the back before crossing the ball in to the box from the wide areas. This has been
reported in the past to be the most effective way of producing an opportunity to
create a shot on goal, Konstadinidou & Tsigilis (2005). The importance of producing
a cross from the wide areas of the pitch has been observed through scientific
research by Huges & Franks (2005) and Yiannakos & Armatas (2006) who stated
that goals were more likely to be scored from producing a cross the wide channels of
the pitch in to the central goal area. When ‘world class football’ is imagined by the
general public it is the men’s game that they picture. From this study we know that
72.22% of the goals scored by the male team in this study are scored by attacking

29 | P a g e
the central zone of the pitch, not by crossing from the wide areas. When you take in
to account the size of the pitches in use for these studies, 115x75 for the female
team, and 116x77 for the male team, the female pitch is 307 meter squared smaller
or 95% of the size of the male pitch. This means that the female team have less
ground to cover, yet still take a longer period of time to score and are more inclined
to play the ball in to wide areas before playing the ball back inside when sufficient
space has been created in the goal area. The female players were more inclined to
pass the ball to the player, rather than in to space, which was the tactical approach
used by the male team in this analysis. This meant that the female players had to
take more touches on the ball to move the ball in to the space in front of them before
being able to advance with the ball or make a further pass. Mara et al (2012) stated
that the teams who were able to create goal scoring opportunities via attacking the
left wing area of the pitch were more likely to be successful in their league. This
study however shows that the female team, who won their league, scored more
goals from the right than the left, while the male team scored 28 goals from the
centre. This shows how quickly the style and the quality of play in the female game
has changed since the analysis on the Australian W-League was conducted. This
leads on to another key finding, the areas in which the ball is won by the two teams
in the build-up to a goal being scored. There are very specific differences in this area
of the study, with the female team being happy to sit back, covering spaces in order
to intercept passes by the opposition. While the male team win the ball high up the
pitch, through tackles as often as they intercept passes. Horn et al, (2002) reporting
that the attacking strategy that teams use rely heavily on the position they win the
ball from. From the 36 goals scored by the male team, they were able to win the ball
in the attacking third of the pitch on 20 occasions in comparison to the 3 times the
female team were able to do this. While the female team were willing to win the ball
further back, winning possession a combined 27 times in the midfield and defensive
thirds before exploring possession based play to create goal-scoring opportunities.
This has had an effect on the duration of these goal-scoring plays, but also shows an
inability of female players to close down their opposition, this is due to the lack of
time they can spend moving at high intensity movements, Baumgart et al (2014).
While they aren’t able to move quick enough, often enough, to win the ball back by
closing down their opponents to tackle them as often as their male counterparts, they
do win the ball back more often through dead balls and interceptions. This confirms

30 | P a g e
the points raised by Bradley et al (2014) that male players give the ball away through
misplaced passes on a less regular basis than female players. So the tactical
decision by the female team to cover spaces and intercept a pass is playing to their
strengths, while the male players are able to press and win the ball via a tackle due
to their physical ability to press the opposition. Physical differences have also had a
big difference in the area of the goal in which the goal was actually scored too. With
the female players choosing to place the ball in the corner of the goal 70% of the
time, while the sheer power of male players meant they were able to score 42.86%
of their goals in the central zones of the goal. With the average distance from goal
being closer for female players at 11.21 meters as opposed to 11.71 meter for male
players, it is interesting to note the way in which the goal was struck. With female
players scoring by shooting with their laces 19:16 compared to the inside of their
foot. This suggests they need to create more power on the ball from a relatively
shorter distance than the male players did. Males used the inside of their foot 20
times compared to 13 goals scored using the more powerful technique. So while the
female players score from a closer range to goal, they are required to use the more
powerful method of sticking the ball more often than the male players. It is also
interesting to see that female players scored more goals from using their heads,
scoring 5 compared to the total of 3 by the males. This has also shown the opposite
theory to the last key finding in that most of the headers scored by the female
players were scored using a glanced technique, essentially deflecting the ball in to
the goal as opposed to the powerful technique adopted by male players to score
using their head. These key findings have shown differences in the ways in which
male and female players; win the ball, what they do to move the ball to an area in
which they can score from and the method they use for striking the ball at goal.
These differences need to be taken in to account by coaches working with the two
different types of footballers. The women’s game is slower due to the physical
limitations on the individual players. However this means that the female game is far
more technical and tactical in nature as a result of these limitations. The statement
by Pankhurst & Collins (2013) that physical ability limits technical and tactical ability
is then incorrect. The physical limitation on female players, their inability to reach the
same speeds and produce lower levels of high intensity movement actually allows
them to express their technical and tactical ability. The very fact that they cannot
move as fast as male players means they have more contact time on the ball, more

31 | P a g e
touches, make more passes means they have to be more technically and tactically
adept. While male players are able to use their pace and power to overrun defences
by hitting long, direct passes over the top of defences to run on to and score, female
players build up possession slower, move the ball over shorter distances, create
more passes to beat players using combination play before shooting from closer at
goal. The fact that the female players had more touches on the ball goes against the
research done by Bradley et al (2014). This previous research showed there were no
significant differences in technical events in elite male and female players in the
UEFA Champions league. However we know from Delgado-Bordonau et al, (2013)
that there are differences between knockout and league games in the way in which
teams play. Barreira et al, (2013) also showed that the methods used in winning
back possession from group stages to knock out games within the same competition
changed significantly.To understand these differences we must however look at the
basic formation of the two teams that have been analysed in this study, appendix 12
shows the formation most used by the male team. This formation utilises the central
zone of the pitch, with two strikers occupying the defence. While appendix 13 shows
the formation of the female side, who have three forwards, but only one in a central
area. This means that these teams are set up to play a certain way, and their ability
to score goals in the way they do, means they are adhering to the tactics set out by
their coaches, Cordes et al (2012). With the female team creating space in the
centre by having players out in the wide areas they are more likely to create an
opportunity to make a pass or cross to someone in that area without this being
intercepted. Whereas the male team have a very concentrated number of players in
the central area, looking to play the ball in that area direct to the most advanced
players. Research compiled byKirkendall et al (2002), noted that a large proportion
of goals in male football were scored as a direct result of set pieces, appendix 5
shows that 9 of their 36 goals were scored as a direct result of a set piece. Their
research compared this by saying that female teams scored the majority of their
goals came from open play, however appendix 6 shows that half of the 30 goals
scored involved at least one set piece in the build-up to a goal being scored. These
appendices also show that the final ball distribution before a goal being scored by
the female team came from behind the last defender and into the central area of goal
from the wide areas. However the male team opted to make the final ball distribution
from in front of the defence. This meant that the defenders would have to turn

32 | P a g e
through 180 degrees before making a run towards the ball. This would give the
attacking team a split second advantage and the ability to beat any offside decision
being made. From the same appendices, it also evident that the midfield of the
female team bring a higher percentage of goals to the team than their forwards,
which is the contrary for the male side. Both teams having three goals scored by
their defence but again a higher percentage scored by the defenders for the female
side. This shows that the female side, who play with three forwards, two playing in
the wide areas, work the ball forward to these wide players and use the central
forward as a decoy for their midfielders. The midfielder’s are able to make forward
runs, leaving one of the three midfielders back to cover in defence. This means they
are able to arrive in the central area of the penalty area late and get their shots on
target because of the space created by the central forward getting in position near to
goal keeper. Despite having one less forward than the female team, the male
forwards score the most of their teams goals, again proving the long ball over the top
for the forwards to run on to it a tactical approach exploited well be the male side.

33 | P a g e
Conclusion
While this study has set out to outline the key physical, technical and tactical
differences of male and female elite footballers, the reason behind this study is to
inform coaches working with male and/or female players. This research has shown
that there are key differences in the two forms of the game that have not previously
been highlighted. For coaches to be successful they must first understand the
demands of the game and be able to link these to the needs of their athletes,
Abraham et al (2014). With approximately 90% of qualified coaches in England being
male and just 5 of the 15 strong female football committee at the English Football
Association being female according to UEFA (2013), those with experience of
playing and or coaching women’s football isn’t high. Therefore this research is vital to
increase the understanding of those who work within female football currently or who
do so in the future. This research outlines that female players need to experience
more touches on the ball in training sessions to be able to take that in to their match
play, while male players should be constrained to a limited number of touches to
increase the speed of their decisions and actions on the pitch. Female players need
to be given specific training sessions designed around the demands of the game as
it is for female players and shouldn’t be coached as if they are a male team. The
physical differences that are influencing the nature of female football should not be
seen as a negative, but an opportunity to develop players in a different way, to play
the game differently but to an equally exceptional standard as their male
counterparts. The limitations of this study mean that only one male and female club
football team have been analysed, therefore the data coming from it does not take in
to account playing styles from various countries. The two teams analysed play on
different continents and during different seasons over the year, which could have an
effect on the playing styles. With one of the teams included in the study playing on
grass and the other playing on an artificial surface, this too could provide
explanations for the differences in the data. However this study has provided
information for a gap in previous studies and could and should be built on in future.
This would allow differences in football cultures to be taken in to account when
analysing the style of play. The United States Soccer Federation’s Soccer
Curriculum (N.D.) for example provides little emphasis on 1v1 scenarios in coaching.

34 | P a g e
This is evident in the way in which the female team, who have just three players from
outside the US in their roster, play. However the coach of this side has successful
experience of coaching in several other countries. This shows that a coach can get
the best out of their players by understanding the previous playing abilities of their
players. The rate at which the women’s game of football is growing is truly amazing
and with more research in the differences between male and female football can only
serve to provide better coaches working with female players to aid their
development. Throughout this study it has become clear that female players are
capable of some exceptional things on a football field on and off the ball.

35 | P a g e
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40 | P a g e
Appendices
Appendix One

44 | P a g e
Appendix Five
Goal Number
Time of
Goal
Goal Duration
(s) Goal Scorer
Player
Position
Match State
Pre
Match State
Post
1 5.55 11 Silva Midfield Drawing Winning
2 21.25 8 Aguero Forward Winning Winning
3 49.59 58 Toure Midfield Winning Winning
4 74.17 5 Nasri Midfield Winning Winning
5 15.31 22 Aguero Forward Drawing Winning
9 16.45 8 Negredo Forward Losing Drawing
12 0.13 6 Navas Forward Drawing Winning
13 33.36 6 Negredo Forward Winning Winning
16 54.48 5 Negredo Forward Winning Winning
17 91.16 14 Navas Forward Winning Winning
18 7.53 2 Negredo Forward Drawing Winning
23 49.57 3 Fernandinho Midfield Winning Winning
24 65.14 12 Silva Midfield Winning Winning
25 87.08 16 Fernandinho Midfield Winning Winning
27 30.11 4 Kompany Defender Losing Drawing
29 65.42 5 Dzeko Forward Drawing Winning
30 69.35 4 Toure Midfield Drawing Winning
31 2.52 1 Toure Midfield Drawing Winning
32 45.15 8 Nasri Midfield Drawing Winning
33 48.12 6 Dzeko Forward Winning Winning
34 80.19 8 Jovetic Defender Winning Winning
35 38.49 9 Nasri Midfield Drawing Winning
36 48.49 4 Kompany Defender Winning Winning

45 | P a g e
How Scored
Goal
Distance Goal Position
How Ball
Won
Where Ball
Won
Head- Driven,TC 10 Inside IntermediateCentral Throwin Midfield
Shot,RF, Driven,BRHC 19 Outside Central Tackle Defence
FK - IRF, TLHC 19 Outside Central Foul Attack
Shot,LF, Driven, BRHC 16 Inside Extreme Central Interception Midfield
Volley,LF,TRHC 8 Inside IntermediateCentral Tackle Midfield
Shot,ILF, BLHC 3 Inside Immediate Central Corner Attack
Shot,IRF,Centre 6 Inside Immediate Central Tackle Attack
Shot,IRF,Centre 7 Inside IntermediateLeftCentral Tackle Defence
Shot,IRF,BLHC 8 Inside IntermediateLeftCentral Interception Midfield
Shot,IRF,BLHC 10 Inside IntermediateRight Interception Defence
Pen,IRF,BRHC 12 Inside IntermediateCentral Foul Attack
Lob, RF,TLHC 18 Inside Extreme Outside Right Interception Attack
Shot,IRF,Centre 8 Inside IntermediateCentral Tackle Midfield
Shot,ILF, BLHC 6 Inside Immediate Central Tackle Midfield
Shot,IRF,BRHC 15 Inside Extreme RightCentral Interception Midfield
Shot,LF, Driven,BRHC 18 Outside Central Interception Midfield
Shot,RF, Driven,BLHC 11 Inside IntermediateRightCentral GK Defence
FK - ILF, LC 20 Outside Central Foul Attack
Shot,ILF, BLHC 11 Inside IntermediateCentral Tackle Attack
Shot,LF, Driven,BRHC 14 Inside Extreme Central Tackle Midfield
Volley,RF,Centre 6 Inside Immediate RightCentral Corner Attack
Shot,IRF,Bottom Centre 5 Inside Immediate Central Tackle Attack
Shot,IRF,BRHC 22 Outside Central Interception Attack
Shot,ILF, Top Centre 8 Inside IntermdeiateRightCentral Tackle Attack
Lob, RF,BLHC 10 Inside IntermediateCentral Interception Attack
Head- Glanced,BottomCentre 6 Inside Immediate RightCentral Corner Attack
Lob, RF,Bottom Centre 20 Outside Central Tackle Defence
Shot,RF RightCentre 11 Inside IntermediateCentral Interception Attack
Shot,RF, BottomCentre 7 Inside IntermdeiateLeftCentral Interception Attack
Shot,IRF,Bottom Centre 7 Inside IntermediateCentral Tackle Attack
Head,Driven,TopCentre 5 Inside Immediate Central Interception Attack
Shot,IRF,Bottom Centre 7 Inside IntermediateCentral Interception Midfield
Shot,Driven,LF,BLHC 35 Outside Central Interception Midfield
Shot,IRF,Bottom Centre 6 Inside Immediate Central Corner Attack

46 | P a g e
Numberof PlayersInvolved
Total Toucheson
Ball Numberof Passes Average PassLength
Set
Pieces
4 9 5 15 1
3 7 2 15 0
1 1 0 0 1
2 4 1 40 0
4 16 3 20 0
3 3 2 20 1
3 6 2 15 0
3 7 2 20 0
4 9 3 18 0
4 10 3 23 0
1 1 0 0 0
2 3 0 0 0
4 7 2 30 0
3 5 2 25 0
3 7 2 15 0
2 5 1 30 0
4 10 3 33 1
1 1 0 0 1
2 8 1 10 0
4 6 3 20 0
3 3 2 20 1
3 5 2 15 0
1 3 0 0 0
3 10 2 15 0
2 8 2 8 0
1 1 0 0 0
2 2 1 30 1
5 8 4 25 0
2 3 1 15 0
3 4 2 8 0
1 1 0 0 0
4 8 3 15 0
3 4 2 20 0
3 4 2 25 0
2 5 1 6 0
3 3 2 22 1

47 | P a g e
Channel Final Ball From PlaySwitched
Times
Switched
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Left Centre toLeft 2
Right
Rightto
Centre 1
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre Centre toLeft 2
Right Leftto Centre 1
Centre 0
Centre 0
Left Leftto Centre 1
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre Centre toLeft 2
Centre
Rightto
Centre 1
Centre 0
Centre 0
Right
Rightto
Centre 1
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Centre 0
Right
Rightto
Centre 2
Centre 0

48 | P a g e
Appendix 6
Goal Number
Time of
Goal
Goal Duration
(S)
Goal
Scorer
Player
Position
Match State
Pre
Match State
Post
1 48.21 88 Little Midfield Drawing Winning
2 53.22 19 Little Midfield Winning Winning
3 87.33 23 Rapinoe Forward Winning Winning
4 1.54 92 Fletcher Defender Drawing Winning
5 48.07 56 Winters Midfield Winning Winning
6 79.33 23 Fishlock Midfield Winning Winning
9 15.24 123 Fletcher Defender Drawing Winning
11 75.56 72 Winters Defender Drawing Winning
12 44.13 15 Fishlock Midfield Losing Drawing
13 92.35 12 Little Midfield Losing Drawing
15 67.58 8 Leroux Forward Drawing Winning
17 54.55 32 Kawasumi Forward Losing Drawing
19 82.54 4 Kawasumi Forward Drawing Winning
20 69.05 133 Goebel Forward Drawing Winning
21 16.34 14 Leroux Forward Drawing Winning
22 53.04 9 Kawasumi Forward Winning Winning
24 53.17 14 Rapinoe Forward Winning Winning
26 31.03 31 Kawasumi Forward Drawing Winning
28 38.24 26 Goebel Forward Winning Winning

49 | P a g e
How Scored
Goal
Distance Goal Position
How Ball
Won
Pen-IRF, BLHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central Tackle
Shot - IRF, BLHC 15 Inside Extreme Central Offside
Shot - IRF, Centre 7 Inside Extreme Central GK
Head - Glanced, TC 6 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Head - Driven, TC 5 Inside Immediate Central Interception
Shot - Driven, RF, BLHC 23 Outside Right Central Interception
Pen-IRF, BRHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central Foul
Shot - IRF, Centre 11
Inside Intermediate Right
Central Tackle
Shot - IRF, Centre 8 Inside Intermediate Central Offside
Pen - IRF, TLHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central Offside
Head - Glanced, TC 11 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Volley - Driven RF, BLHC 11 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Shot - Driven LF, BRHC 19 Outside Left Central Interception
Pen - IRF, BLHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Shot - RF, TC, Lob 22 Outside Left Central Throwin
Pen - IRF, BRHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Volley - Driven, RF,
BLHC 6 Inside Immediate Right Central Interception
Shot - ILF, BRHC 8 Inside Intermediate Left Central GK
Shot - IRF, BRHC 10 Inside Extreme Central Interception
Shot - IRF, Centre 8 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Shot - ILF, BLHC 7 Inside Intermdiate Left Interception
Head - Glanced, TRHC 11 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Shot - Driven, RF, BLHC 13
Central Interception
Head - Glanced, TLHC 7 Inside Intermediate Left Central Interception
Shot - IRF, BRHC 10
Central Interception
Shot - Driven, RF, TRHC 8 Outside Left Central Interception
Volley - Lob, RF, Centre 23 Inside Extreme Central Foul
Shot - IRF, BRHC 13 Outside Left Central Interception
Shot - Driven, RF, BRHC 10 Inside Intermediate Central GK
Shot - IRF, BRHC 8 Inside Intermediate Left Central Interception

50 | P a g e
Where Ball
Won
Number of Players
Involved
Total Touches on
Ball
Number of
Passes
Defence 3 13 3
Defence 6 14 4
Defence 4 8 3
Midfield 8 29 12
Midfield 7 30 7
Defence 7 21 6
Midfield 3 6 1
Midfield 3 14 2
Defence 10 68 25
Defence 5 11 4
Defence 10 36 11
Midfield 5 7 4
Defence 5 9 4
Midfield 5 23 5
Attack 3 10 2
Defence 8 29 11
Defence 9 25 9
Defence 8 34 11
Attack 2 3 1
Midfield 8 17 7
Defence 4 12 3
Midfield 2 11 1
Defence 5 18 4
Midfield 4 15 5
Attack 1 3 0
Midfield 9 26 11
Midfield 4 9 5
Midfield 5 12 4
Defence 5 12 4
Midfield 5 11 4

51 | P a g e
Average Pass
Length
Set
Pieces
Channel Final Ball
From
Play
Switched
Times
Switched
10 0 Left
Centre to
Left 1
20 2 Centre 0
16.25 1 Centre 0
16.5 2 Left
Centre to
Left 1
14.25 1 Left
Centre to
Left 2
12.5 0 Centre Left to Right 3
20 2 Left 0
25 0 Centre 0
12.5 1 Left Right to Left 6
25 2 Right Left to Right 2
15 1 Left
Left, Right,
Left 6
20 0 Left Right to Left 3
20 0 Centre
Left to
Centre 1
15 1 Centre Right to Left 2
12.5 1 Left
Left to
Centre 1
10 1 Right Left to Right 6
10 0 Left
Left to
Centre 5
15 1 Centre Left to Right 6
5 0 Centre 0
12.5 1 Right
Left to
Centre 2
10 0 Centre 0
25 0 Left 0
20 0 Centre
Right to
Centre 2
8 0 Right
Right to
Centre 2
0 0 Centre 0
10 0 Left Right to Left 3
12.5 1 Centre
Left to
Centre 1
25 0 Centre 0
16.25 1 Centre
Centre to
Left 2
12.25 0 Centre 0

58 | P a g e
Appendix Thirteen

A comparative analysis of technical and tactical performance of male and female football teams in elite competitions

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