Is There a "Right" Way to Play Football?

Based on a visualization I did during the most recent FIFA World Cup looking on the Field Tilt and Directness of teams that qualified for the Round of 16, I found that

• 10 of the 16 teams from the Ro16 had above average FT and below average Directness

• Only 3 of the teams that had below average FT and above average Directness made the Ro16

This provoked the question to me if there is a "right" way to play football. Therefore, using

data from multiple leagues across the world and certain metrics that gave indications into their playstyles such as:

• Passes per defensive action (PPDA)

• Passes per Sequence

• Direct Speed (m/s)

• Sequence Time (s)

• Direct Attacks

• Build Up Attacks;

amongst others I decided to look into this and found that it could be suggested that playing a slow, controlled build up possession-based style of football with an intense pressing defensive style could be favorable to many teams as a means of obtaining better performances, xGD and therefore points per game given the strong correlation between the two on average.

However, there are many limitations and other factors to consider when talking about if there is a right playing style. Some of these include:

• performances vs. results

• considering the qualities and characteristics of the opposition and the team's players

• considering the tournament format

• the budgets, resources and staff at different teams

The full PDF report can be seen with more details in my portfolio on the homepage and at this link.