ABSTRACT
There are several indicative trends in modern soccer. Play has become faster and the player in possession of the ball has less time and space at his disposal. Even sides with a defensive structure based on marking (priority to the work of third defenders) have during the last few years given higher priority to pressurising the player with the ball. In sides with a defensive structure based on zonal methods the pressurising is harder than ever before. The World Championship in Mexico in 1986 represented an interesting case since there was an obvious influence of climatic conditions. Few teams initiated pressure in the attacking third of the field, unless there was an instant and specific demand. Usually teams retreated to their own half before pressurising the player on the ball. Since all the defenders were behind the ball, thus providing balance and depth, there should have been few opportunities for attacking players to create space in the final third of the field. However, since there was a significantly large number of goals scored during the final stages of this tournament, the indications are that there was a high degree of attacking skill and team work in evidence. In order to analyse this aspect of play at this elite level it was decided to study the use of space and time in attacking movements leading to goals. In particular the following key features of play were notated:–
the number of touches on the ball required by the goal scorer;
the amount of space the goal scorer had;
the number of touches used by the assisting player before the final pass;
the amount of space he had at the moment of passing;
the number of passes involved in the scoring move;
the number of goals scored from set plays;
the specific type of set play leading to a goal e.g. corner, free-kicks, throw-ins, penalties;
the number of goals resulting from the breakdown of a move;
the location on the field in which moves break down.
