Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the effect of the situational match status variable on the ball possession of the teams that participated in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The 52 games played during the championship have been collected, and 3,740 ball possessions made by the teams were analyzed. The teams have been divided into successful and unsuccessful. Three types of analysis have been carried out: a univariate analysis for both groups with the categorical and continuous variables selected; a bivariate analysis, using chi-square tests and the exact Fischer test; and finally, a multivariable technique such as the decision trees was incorporated. The available results show significant differences between the two groups considered. Specifically, there are significant differences between winning and losing teams in terms of match status. The results of the post hoc test have shown that unsuccessful teams make few ball possessions with a winning match status, most of the possessions are performed when they are losing. Instead, successful teams make more possessions when they are winning than when they are losing. Also, spend more time keeping the ball in their offensive zone, and completing a greater number of passes in it. The results of the decision tree identified that the unsuccessful teams have more ball possessions in forward and middle lines with a draw during the first half, while in the second, a large percentage of possessions are made with an unfavorable match status. Instead, the successful teams have more ball possessions in the first part with a draw, while in the second it happens with a favorable match status.
Highlights
The analysis of performance in men’s football is currently in an era of expansion, both quantitatively and qualitatively, as far as studies are concerned
The results suggest that the tactical intention to progress or preserve is significantly influenced by the match status in unsuccessful teams
It has been shown that the number of ball possessions is a variable that presents differences statistically significant between successful and unsuccessful teams, and that this possession is strongly conditioned by the match status
Summary
The analysis of performance in men’s football is currently in an era of expansion, both quantitatively and qualitatively, as far as studies are concerned. Finding the routes or paths that help maximize the chances of a team’s success must be one of the highest aspirations of scientific research. Unlike other sports such as basketball or handball, football is a sport that is characterized by a low score on the scoreboard (Tenga et al, 2010). The match status of a game is determined by the momentary result of the match at the time a behavior is recorded (Bloomfield et al, 2005) The effect of this situational variable in the game is manifested in the changes in the behavior of players and teams in response to the demands of the scoreboard
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