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Dutch playstyle DNA 🇳🇱🧬

Lower tier Japanese playstyle DNA 🇯🇵🧬

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Swedish playstyle DNA 🇸🇪🧬

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Norwegian playstyle DNA 🇳🇴🧬

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Anderlecht - Genk Really highlights Anderlecht's wide play in general and both teams' left-heavy progression in this game

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Rayo Vallecano - Racing Santander Obviously Racing are not positional, but passmaps can still highlight great information from relational teams. Such as Racing's ball-side overloads rather than effectively an amoeba around the ball. Not common to see LW at RB for example

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Here's a few more games from the weekend Arsenal - Chelsea

Impect data is rich enough to make passmaps a lot more pointed Can see data only from the most-used formation (if there was a formation change), by positions which accounts for subs, & see which positions were the most important to progressing the ball (color)

Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Some data from the game. I think Westchester will feel a bit hard done by 😅 They really put out a hybrid 4-3-3 IP / 5-4-1 OOP shape Great win for Hearts of Pine

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Here's how Hearts actually look on the pitch in each formation The strikers are relatively much more involved when they play a 4-4-2, and in general the 4 attackers see more equitable time on the ball. Things flow a little more, there's more central play, & harder to defend

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Portland Hearts of Pine host Westchester SC today and are looking for their first win since July 3 Westchester have typically put out a 4-2-3-1 recently while Hearts have rotated between a 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 But, Hearts of Pine performances vs 4-2-3-1 are better in a 4-4-2

Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This image highlights it much better. Their main 3 formations vs back 4s or back 3s... and the CBs & WBs are virtually the same

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

FCC line up in lots of different formations as their midfield can be quite fluid. Their CBs & WBs do stay fairly consistent regardless of the central makeup, though

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

DC United play FC Cincinnati tonight René Weiler puts out a 4-4-2 virtually every game, although vs LAFC last time it was a 4-3-3 with Hefti suspended DC are a bit lopsided against back 3s, which is how FCC play. Vs back 3s, DC push RCB up & wide and RW tucks in much more

His consistency numbers are relatively low because his games tend to be either exceptionally high or above average. That's better than being consistently below average, or high vs low, but it does show an area where he has room to develop

Zach Zengue is one of those MLS Next Pro players who you're just kinda confused about why they don't get more test minutes in MLS Incredible in college and continuing that both for the Crew & St Louis City's Next Pro teams this year

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Same with me, born in Ohio, raised in Ohio & Michigan... but parents and all extended family in Massachusetts, summers spent in Massachusetts Obviously played the biggest role lol. Super cool stuff

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Improved the title and added a ternary plot to see the players’ progression style… in these receipt-carry-pass chains, where is most of the progression coming from for them? Most are obviously receipt or pass, but some players can be heavily skewed towards one of them. Nice to see it on the image

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But of course, San Diego have put together a team built for progression Onni Valakari also ranks incredibly high in these metrics, especially for the number of bypassed opponents per receipt-carry-pass chain While the visual only shows 5+, the numbers include all chains

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Jeppe Tverskov is one of the most progressive midfielders in MLS And it's not just his passing... He gets into great spaces to receive pass that take opponents out of the game Here's an analysis of progression chains, or receipt-carry-pass sequences. Tverskov ranks #1

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In these situations they usually keep the LCB close to the GK & the RCB very wide. LB usually deep and RB higher to try to give space to RCB, keeping or dropping 1 CM to keep the opposing ST(s) on their toes, but they never use that CM as an option Same setup vs 1 or 2 STs

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It's a really unique tactic that I haven't seen so extreme before. They usually take their goal kicks long, but fairly often they take them out to the RCB (either wide outside the box or very wide & barely in the box) They do it in order to take it long from another angle tho

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Interesting team popped up in my goal kick research... Metropolitanos 🇻🇪 take goal kicks to the width over 23% of the time, one of the most extreme rates in my 2,800 team sample (99th percentile) Virtually all of these taken to the right, out to the RCB who then plays it long

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Certainly some development in how his team uses goal kicks, though. Taken by a CB and into the box much more frequently to start deeper buildups more regularly

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Jesper Sørensen's style at the Whitecaps over both seasons. Distinct & very consistent

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Images from a still-work-in-progress update to my goal kick profile app that'll include team styles Still unsure if I'll make it public, but here's a screenshot with more info Goal kick app: goal-kick.netlify.app

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Shamrock Rovers 🇮🇪 & KuPS 🇫🇮 playstyle comparison ahead of their UECL final first leg tomorrow

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I'm sure people have noticed, but my Match Report app has been being updated daily as 26/27 leagues start up Recent weeks have seen lower tiers in 🇩🇪🇫🇷🇪🇸 again plus leagues from all over 🇿🇦🇯🇵🇸🇦🇦🇪🇳🇱🇧🇪🇵🇹🇭🇷🇷🇸🇵🇱 & so many more We're almost fully in 26/27 👇 best11scouting.streamlit.app/Football_Mat...

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Perhaps a bit easier to do in Iceland than some other leagues given the league style and at times big quality gaps between players and/or teams... but he's been one of the best ball-winners over the past 2 seasons in addition to being one of the best ball progressors

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

The key thing for him is consistency in how he's able to progress the ball for FH. Playing a similar role, playing similarly-shaped passes in each phase, so he's able to really develop his ability to connect on them He ranked #6 for bypassed opponents among DM/CMs while FH ranked last as a team

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Tómas Orri Róbertsson's progression passing this season One of the best midfielders in the league for 2 seasons now at this, yet in a team that isn't the best at progressing... not sure how they'd be without him

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Ben Griffis @begriffis.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I'm starting to post a lot more using Impect data, and here's a sample from Job's report. I'm in my "try to generate a little income from soccer data to cover my cost of soccer data" era, so apologies; his dribbling visuals from 2026 & 2025 will have to stay behind the paywall 😅 Check Ilari out tho

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And finally, Universities by excluding MLS Next Pro VCU, UCLA, Marshall, & Charlotte top the charts here Syracuse, interestingly enough, only has a single player who has played in MLSNP so far this season & 4 in USL League 1. One who played in Armenia jut signed with MLSNP tho

And of course, breaking down only Next Pro players by university Wake Forest on top, followed by Uconn, UNC, Indiana, & Duke

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And excluding Next Pro players (but will include players who have minutes in both MLS & Next Pro this year) The gulf between ACC is still very prominent, but the next-best conferences are all fairly similar Big Ten, Big East, Atlantic 10, & Sun belt are pretty equal for non-NP

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Now let's split MLS Next Pro and the rest Here are the conferences sending players to MLSNP recently. It's fairly representative, with ACC then a massive gap to Big Ten who are also a bit above Big East

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What schools have had the most current pros play for them in the last 5 seasons? UCLA & UNC have had at least 10 each. Wake Forest, NC State, & Indiana round out the top 5 These are all schools with at least 5 ex-players having minutes in 25/26 or 2026

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What conferences since 2021 tend to send players pro? You can't beat ACC. UNC, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, recently adding Stanford, etc etc... At least 86 current players have recently been at ACC schools Big Ten, Big East, Sun Belt, & Atlantic 10 complete the top 5

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Where do former NCAA players since 2021 play? Overwhelmingly in Next Pro (no surprise). Significant numbers in USL League 1 & plenty in USL Championship Most MLS players are "two-way" players Scandinavia is a big destination, mainly Icelanders/Danes/Norwegians moving back home after college

And from the same game, 4 minutes later. Mentality is crucial in football, because when something goes wrong you risk others going wrong I talked about KFUM players trusting teammates. This can happen when as the GK you don't trust your teammate to win the ball

Of course, over the course of a season there are bound to be issues. Even against the worst Eliteserien team 2 weeks ago This clip shows the problems that can happen when a defender is a straggler, or another over-commits, and also the risks of big gaps for opponents to run into

This final clip highlights their drive to cut out balls played in behind. As we've seen, KFUM show high risk tolerance & willingness to leave gaps in their back line if it allows them to cut out the most likely danger... but a moment of individual brilliance could unlock them!

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These next 2 clips show KFUM's ability to cut out passes in behind that do come. They deter them, ofc, but also focus on making sure their positioning is solid enough to pounce when these passes are played This clip also shows KFUM's ability to keep their line high & disciplined

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This clip against Brann illustrates the back line's ability to communicate & recognize when to switch. This isn't a novel concept in the slightest bit, of course, but highlights how KFUM are able to use their individuals to create a strong whole. Highlight of a switched-on OOP

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As I said above, KFUM seem to trust their teammates to do their jobs. They also trust their teammates (and themselves) to commit to their actions. Here we see #42 pressing from midfield. He commits. He's beaten. But he trusts #8 behind him to do his job & push the receiver wide

This shows their line at the top of the box, compactness, & limited run-following; but also something more risky. KFUM are willing to leave gaps in back line to put out fires. This requires teamwork, communication, and work rate from the others around where the ball ends up

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