Supervisors info:
ΜΗΤΡΟΤΑΣΙΟΣ ΜΙΧΑΛΗΣ, ΛΕΚΤΟΡΑΣ, ΣΕΦΑΑ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The aim of this paper was to study and analyze the decision-making of the players in the final actions of the offensive zone during the 2022’s World Cup matches. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of football players' decision-making on the achievement of final action as well as its effectiveness.
For the structure of this paper, 310 actions in open play conditions from 23 matches of the final phase of the 2022’s World Cup were analyzed. The variables selected for analysis are the ball reception in the offensive zone, the position for the ball reception, the choice of actions, the effectiveness of the actions’ choice, the completion of the actions depending on the choice, the result of finishing, the completion of finishing depending on technical execution and the comparison of the decisions’ quality between the phases of the action. For statistical analysis indicators of descriptive statistics as frequency (f & %f), x2-test and Wilcoxon test were used.
According to the results, direct finishing with a percentage of 57% was the most common choice of actions aimed at achieving final action and completing the action in goal. The majority of the analyzed actions ended in the goal with players completing most of the actions with a direct finishing (97%). Finally, out of a total of 226 actions completed with a finishing on goal, 38 led to a scoring goal with 38 good technical executions.
In conclusion, the analysis of the players’ decision-making in the final actions of the offensive zone, which is attempted in this study, aims to constitute a valuable assumption for football coaches. The examination, in particular, of the technical-tactical actions (direct finishing, combination and individual action), which contribute to the execution of the final action, leads to the ascertainment of the superiority of the direct finishing over the other two. This ascertainment can, of course, be a usable fact that can be applied in many ways in football.
Keywords:
Match analysis, football, decision-making, final action, World Cup.
