As gigabytes of data flow from field to fingertips, the technological divide has been closing between teams at the World Cup.
While the focus has been on the debut of video assistant referees, less obvious technical advances have been at work and the coaches have control over this area, at least.
No longer are the flashiest gizmos to trace player movements and gather data the preserve of the best-resourced nations. All World Cup finalists have had an array of electronic performance and tracking systems made available to them by FIFA.
“We pay great attention to these tools,” Poland coach Adam Nawalka said. “Statistics play an important role for us. We analyze our strength and weaknesses.”
The enhanced tech at the teams’ disposal came after FIFA approved the use of hand-held electronic and communications equipment in the technical area for tactical and coaching purposes.
That allows live conversations between the coaches on the bench and analysts in the stands, a change from the 2014 World Cup, when the information gathered from player and ball-tracking systems could not be transmitted in real time from the tribune.
“It’s the first time that they can communicate during the match,” FIFA head of technology Johannes Holzmueller said. “We provide the basic and most important metrics to the teams to be analyzed at the analysis desk.”
The key performance indicators fed by tracking cameras and satellites provide another perspective when coaches make judgements on substitutions or tactical switches if gaps exposed on the field are identified.
“These tools are very practical, they give us analysis, it’s very positive,” Colombia coach Jose Pekerman said. “They complement the tools we already have.”
Player welfare can also be enhanced with tools to assess injuries in real time allowed for use by medics at this World Cup. Footage of incidents can be evaluated to supplement any on-field diagnosis.
A second medic “can review very clearly, very concretely what happened on the field, what the doctor sitting on the bench perhaps could not see,” FIFA medical committee chairman Michel D’Hooghe said.
However, the technology is moving too quickly for some coaches.
“Football is evolving and these tools help us on the tactical and physiological side,” Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said. “We do look at it with my staff, but it doesn’t really have an impact on my decisionmaking.”
Panama coach Hernan Dario Gomez has reviewed the data feeds, but the team have been eliminated in the group stage after facing superior opponents.
“This is obviously very important information, but not more important than the actual players,” Gomez said.
The data is still reliant the quality of analysts interpreting it.
“You can have millions of data points, but what are you doing with it?” Holzmueller said. “At the end even if you’re not such a rich country you could have a very, very clever good guy who is the analyst who could get probably more out of it than a country of 20 analysts.”
FIFA’s technical staff will continue to innovate, but artificial intelligence is not taking over. For some time, at least.
“People think now it’s all driven by computers,” Holzmueller said. “We don’t want that at FIFA.”
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS