Toni Kroos is MAGNIFICENT, Pedri is amazing, Memphis Depay is awesome
But you already knew that and we won’t talk about them today. Stay tuned!
Basic and Advanced Stat Categories for Our Comparison
We use our beloved fbref.com for stats. If you haven’t already, check out our soccer analytics tutorial for beginners to start working with their data.
| Category | Description |
| Goals | Goals |
| xG | Expected Goals xG totals include penalty kicks, but do not include penalty shootouts (unless otherwise noted). Provided by StatsBomb. An underline indicates there is a match that is missing data, but will be updated when available. |
| Shots | Does not include penalty kicks |
| SoT | Shots on target Note: Shots on target do not include penalty kicks |
| SCA | Shot-Creating Actions The two offensive actions directly leading to a shot, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls. Note: A single player can receive credit for multiple actions and the shot-taker can also receive credit. |
| GCA | Goal-Creating Actions The two offensive actions directly leading to a goal, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls. Note: A single player can receive credit for multiple actions and the shot-taker can also receive credit. |
| Assists | Assists |
| xA | xG Assisted xG which follows a pass that assists a shot Provided by StatsBomb. |
| Pass.Comp | Passes Completed |
| Key.Pass | Passes that directly lead to a shot (assisted shots) |
| Pass.Final.3rd | Completed passes that enter the 1/3 of the pitch closest to the goal Not including set pieces |
| SuccDrib | Dribbles Completed Successfully |
| Carries | Number of times the player controlled the ball with their feet |
| Touches | Number of times a player touched the ball. Note: Receiving a pass, then dribbling, then sending a pass counts as one touch |
| Drib.Dist | Total distance, in yards, a player moved the ball while controlling it with their feet, in any direction |
| Pass.Target | Number of times a player was the target of an attempted pass |
| Blocks | Number of times blocking the ball by standing in its path |
| Interceptions | Interceptions |
| Tackles | Number of players tackled |
| Pressure | Number of times applying pressure to opposing player who is receiving, carrying or releasing the ball |
Using the stats above, we created the table below. To read this, count the number of colored blocks above each position. For example, Toni Kroos is 1st in FIVE of the above categories, 3rd in one category, and 5th in another category.
Players that stood out and play on June 26 knockout games: David Alaba, Pierre Høbjerg, Gareth Bale, and Ciro Immobile
David Alaba was important in Austria’s midfield and he leads the tournament in distance dribbled with the ball. He is also tied 4th in Assists and 4th in touches. He ranks 7th overall
Pierre Højbjerg led the Danish team to the top 16 teams in Europe with his great performance. He ranks 10th in our comparison with two 1st place categories, Assists and Shot-Creating Actions.
Gareth Bale was important in taking Wales to the next stage. He ranks 12th in our comparison. He was 3rd in GCA and 4th in xA.
No one made it to the top 15 from Italy, despite Italy’s amazing group stage performance. The reason behind Italian players’ absence from the list is that there were so many players with good performances! All but 1 player in the sqaud have been selected by Mancini to play. Ciro Immobile was the best stats-wise with 5 categories in the top 20.