As we saw in the World Cup 2018, the duration of a match in which a team keeps possession of the ball is not necessarily the way to victory.
Simply keeping possession is not really enough to win games
It is about using the possession to bypass defenders (packing) and create high quality chances on goal
High quality chances on goal involve less pressure on the shooter, less defenders between the shooter and the goal, and close proximity to the goal
Passes from the midfield (especially the top of the penalty box Zone 14) into the penalty box (Zone 17) are the most dangerous passes
Overplaying defenders building out of the back doesn’t increase space control over the opponent as much as overplaying defenders from the midfield into the attacking third
Overlaying defenders from the midfield into the attacking third is correlated with scoring goals and winning (Rein et al., 2017)
