Possession
Possession is the share of a match during which a team has the ball, expressed as a percentage: 60% against 40%, for example. Depending on the statistics provider, it is calculated from the time each team controls the ball or from each team’s share of the passes.
The two methods give close but not identical figures, which explains why sites differ for the same match. Either way, the two teams add up to 100%: possession is a relative measure that depends as much on the opponent’s style as on the team’s own.
Having the ball is not the same as dominating. A team can rack up 70% possession by passing it around in front of a low block without creating chances, while the opponent, happy to counter-attack, gets the best openings. The scoreline matters too: the side in front often concedes the ball, and its opponent’s possession inflates automatically.
To analyse a match, possession is therefore read alongside other indicators: shots, shots on target, xG, passes into the final third. It mainly tells you about playing style — patient possession on one side, direct and vertical play on the other — and how two teams are likely to share the ball.
Example
Team A averages 58% possession and team B 52%: both figures cannot happen at once. Normalising them to 100% gives an estimate of 58 ÷ (58 + 52) ≈ 53% for A and 47% for B.
How Elofoot uses it
In the AI analysis, Elofoot calculates an expected possession split by normalising the two teams' actual average possession to 100%, as in the example. These averages also feed the playing-style indices (0 to 100): directness, approximated from the inverse of possession and shot volume, and pressing, a rough estimate based on fouls and possession.
Frequently asked questions
- How is possession calculated?
- Depending on the provider, either from the time each team controls the ball or from each team’s share of the passes. The two teams always add up to 100%.
- Does more possession mean dominating the match?
- Not necessarily. A team that defends in a low block and counter-attacks can have little of the ball yet create the best chances.
- Why does possession differ between websites?
- Because calculation methods (time or passes) and the way stoppages are handled vary from one provider to another.
See also
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