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.
Team Stats leaders that play on June 28 knockout games: Toni Kroos, Kalvin Phillips, Alexander Isak, Andriy Yarmolenko
Toni Kroos is the top player overall in our stats comparison. He is 1st in the tournament in five categories! Matthias Ginter and Antonio Rudiger have also been critical for Germany.
The England national team did not have representatives in the top 15. In fact, the stats were quite low for almost all players. Kalvin Phillips did stand out though with his 93 applications of pressure, 3rd in the tournament Group Stage.
Our favorite Aleksander Isak leads the tournament with 12 successful dribbles. He’s been very impressive with Sweden!
Ukraine was led by Andriy Yarmolenko. His 4 Shots on Target (3rd in the tournament) led to 2 important goals.