Structural Pass Analysis in Football: Learning Pass Archetypes and Tactical Impact from Spatio-Temporal Tracking Data

The increasing availability of spatio-temporal tracking data has created new opportunities for analysing tactical behaviour in football. However, many existing approaches evaluate passes primarily through outcome-based metrics such as scoring probability or possession value, providing limited insight into how passes influence the defensive organisation of the opponent. This paper introduces a structural framework for analysing football passes based on their interaction with defensive structure. Using synchronised tracking/event data, we derive three complementary structural metrics, Line Bypass Score, Space Gain Metric, and Structural Disruption Index, that quantify how passes alter the spatial configuration of defenders. These metrics are combined into a composite measure termed Tactical Impact Value (TIV), which captures the structural influence of individual passes. Using tracking and event data from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, we analyse structural passing behaviour across multiple tactical levels. Unsupervised clustering of structural features reveals four interpretable pass archetypes: circulatory, destabilising, line-breaking, and space-expanding passes. Empirical results show that passes with higher TIV are significantly more likely to lead to territorial progression, particularly entries into the final third and penalty box. Spatial, team-level analyses further reveal distinctive structural passing styles across teams, while player-level analysis highlights the role of build-up defenders as key drivers of structural progression. In addition, analysing passer-receiver interactions identifies structurally impactful passing partnerships that amplify tactical progression within teams. Overall, the proposed framework demonstrates how structural representations derived from tracking data can reveal interpretable tactical patterns in football.

Through the Gaps: Uncovering Tactical Line-Breaking Passes with Clustering

Line-breaking passes (LBPs) are crucial tactical actions in football, allowing teams to penetrate defensive lines and access high-value spaces. In this study, we present an unsupervised, clustering-based framework for detecting and analysing LBPs using synchronised event and tracking data from elite matches. Our approach models opponent team shape through vertical spatial segmentation and identifies passes that disrupt defensive lines within open play. Beyond detection, we introduce several tactical metrics, including the space build-up ratio (SBR) and two chain-based variants, LBPCh$^1$ and LBPCh$^2$, which quantify the effectiveness of LBPs in generating immediate or sustained attacking threats. We evaluate these metrics across teams and players in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, revealing stylistic differences in vertical progression and structural disruption. The proposed methodology is explainable, scalable, and directly applicable to modern performance analysis and scouting workflows.