Ball possession in women´s football: the game of the best teams

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v44i0.92584

Keywords:

Women´s soccer; ball possession; technical-tactical performance; Women´s World Cup; Observational methodology

Abstract

Scientific knowledge on tactical performance in women's soccer has developed mainly in recent years. For this reason, the number of publications on this topic is still low. The objectives of this work were to describe how the top-ranked teams developed possession of the ball at the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 and to understand the tactical differences in the start, development and result of possession of the ball between these teams. To achieve these objectives, 1,148 ball possessions carried out by the semifinalist teams in the final phase of the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 were analyzed using the observational methodology. The results of this study made it possible to test the existence of differences between the selections analyzed for the criteria: match status (p<.001), defensive positioning (p<.05), interaction context (p<.005), initial offensive intention (p<.001) and initial defensive intention (p<.05). On the other hand, no differences were found in the possession outcome (p= .114) between these selections. The results obtained allow us to conclude that, despite the differences demonstrated in the development of ball possession, the degree of offensive success obtained by the best teams was similar. This highlights the possibility of attaining offensive success in elite women's football through different strategies, adapted to the characteristics of the team.

Downloads

Published

07-03-2022

Issue

Section

Original Research Article

How to Cite

Iván-Baragaño, I., Maneiro, R., Losada, J. L., & Ardá, A. (2022). Ball possession in women´s football: the game of the best teams. Retos, 44, 1155-1161. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v44i0.92584