World Cup Most Passes Gained, The Rest
Full explanation of the method and breakdown of attackers is here. Now we move to the rest of the pitch
50-55 Yard Range For Pass Origin, 78 players
Dominated by the Spanish.
Jordi Alba +30 completions (+8% vs avg)
Sergio Ramos +30 completions (+6% vs avg)
3. Gerard Pique +25 completions (+8% vs avg)
Interesting to see the differences between Pique and Ramos at centerback.
More interesting is who we see at the bottom
Jordan Henderson -12 completions (-4% vs avg)
I've long felt improving on Henderson's passing might be a way for Liverpool to make that next step, maybe it's true for England as well. The midfield of Alli/Henderson was a passing disaster for England and their most glaring offensive weakness.
Defenders, 55-60 pass origin, 84 players
Not sure exactly how much of this is an English strength and how much is it sort of compensating or picking up or taking away completions that would have gone to a midfield. Maybe playing 3 at the back makes it easier for these guys to complete passes but then robs Henderson/Alli of options making their numbers look worse.
Stones
Maguire
Walker
One interesting standout as the highest % gainer was Guillermo Varela. Not only did he stand out among his position mates, he was Uruguay's best passer by miles. No unauthorized tattoos during this Cup, just nice and neat passing.
Deep Defenders, >60 yard origin for passes, 62 players
Let's look at the 2 Colombians, because that is a fascinating difference. First, Yerry Mina (+8 completions, +5% above average)
and now Davinson Sanchez (-10 completions, -5% below average)
Sanchez was much worse at playing long balls, and short passes as well. It does make me wonder if it is connected to what I wrote in my first post on the WC series about Colombia where they simply didn't have a left-side in attack (3 attacking midfielders played 7 attacking passes into box from the left side vs 48 from the right). So when Sanchez looked long, there literally was no one there. Compared to when Mina looked forward, he had an abundance of options to look toward. Without video it's just a theory, but the numbers are incredibly stark here.
There is another pair of defenders here (along with one from previous group) who stand out in their team totals. Anderson Santamaria and Luis Advincula (from Peru) really stood out compared to their teammates)
First Santamaria:
and then Advincula
and so did Romain Saiss of Moroccco.
