What heat maps tell us about World Cup teams
Pressure heat maps are helpful to understand a soccer team’s tactical approach to regain possession of the ball.
In soccer, a well-timed pressure event can turn the direction of a game in an instant.
In layman’s terms, a pressure event is when an opposing team takes defensive action against players in possession of the ball to not only restrict their ability to play but to also win it back.
On average, a high-ranked team has around 150 to 200 pressing actions per match, according to StatsBomb, a sports analytics company and a data provider for Northeastern’s NetSI research group.
Editor’s Picks
One way researchers at Northeastern study these events is by creating pressure heat maps, which visualize where on the pitch each team has the most occurrence of these encounters. They are illuminating for understanding a team’s tactical approach when trying to regain possession of the ball.
Here’s a look at some heat maps of some notable teams researchers have created so far for this year’s World Cup.
Canada
In all three of Canada’s group stage games, the North American team prioritized creating active pressure events high up the pitch, as reflected in the darker red areas of the team’s heat map.
That strategy led it to victory in its 6-0 victory over Qatar in the second week of the group stage.
In one instance, Canada’s high pressure activity near the penalty box even caused Qatari defensive midfielder Mohamed al-Manai to score a goal in his own team’s net in the 74th minute of the game.
The team also had a lot of reactive pressing activity on both wings of the pitch, responding in large part to when their opponents were in control of the ball.
Brazil
Similar to Canada, Brazil has prioritized active pressure events in the final third of their opponent’s side of the pitch across its three group stage matches.
However, the South American team’s heat map also shows a large dark spot in the left side of its own half of the field, which can largely be attributed to its opening game against Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 tie.
Brazil was on the defensive for much of the game, responding to Morocco’s intense pressure threats executed largely by defender Achraf Hakimi and attacking midfielder Brahim Diaz.
Scotland
Scotland spent the majority of its three group games largely responding to attacking threats and reactive pressure events happening on its own side of the pitch.
The European country particularly faced fierce competition against the attacking talent of Brazil and Morocco, losing to both countries with scores of 0-3, and 0-1, respectively.
Data analysis provided by Brennan Klein, director for Northeastern University’s NetSI Sport research group.
Northeastern Global News, in your inbox.
Sign up for NGN’s daily newsletter for news, discovery and analysis from around the world.
