Bellingham, Paredes among key players in World Cup quarterfinal matchups
Northeastern’s NetSI Sport research group highlights standouts from Saturday’s quarterfinals
The quarterfinals are in the book and the lineup for the semifinals are set. Spain will face France on Tuesday and Argentina will face England on Wednesday.
But before we get there, what does the data say about who dominated Saturday’s quarterfinals matches? Who were the most valuable players?
Northeastern University’s NetSI Sport research group helps shed light on a few standouts.
Norway versus England
Jude Bellingham
It should be no surprise that Jude Bellingham is included in this list. The English center attacking midfielder scored both of his country’s goals in its 2-1 match against Norway.
He scored the first one in the 47th minute of the first half after receiving a pass from Anthony Gordon and carrying it to Norway’s penalty area to equalize the game.
The goal perfectly illustrated Bellingham’s style of play, according to NetSI Sport. He often operates centrally and deep in the pitch and charges into his enemy’s box at great speed. These days, he’s operating more like a second striker than a typical midfielder, NetSI Sport argued.
Bellingham is ranked in the 99th percentile of top sprinters per match during the tournament so far, sprinting on average 55 sprints per match, according to the data.
His second goal, which he delivered in the 93rd minute, is a testament to his spatial awareness and ability to capitalize on enemy weak points, NetSI Sport said. He scored the shot after Norway’s goalie Orjan Nyland fumbled the ball after saving an attempted goal from England’s Morgan Rogers.
Argentina versus Switzerland
Leandro Paredes
While he wasn’t directly responsible for any of Argentina’s three goals against Switzerland, defensive midfielder Leandro Paredes served as the country’s metronome of sorts, completing a total of 111 passes during the game, the most of any individual player in the quarterfinals.
Pardes is a key asset in securing Argentina’s possession of the ball and slowing down the rate of play to find dangerous areas and scoring opportunities for some of the team’s key attacking players, including Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez.
While he doesn’t often create assists, he helps originate some of the team’s most successful plays that lead to goals. He is ranked in the 99th percentile of players who rank highly in threats created, a measure to quantify a player’s ability to move a ball into threatening attacking positions, NetSI Sport said.
Data analysis provided by Brennan Klein, director of Northeastern University’s NetSI Sport research group.
