Valutatio efficacitatis in calcio Goals, assists, clean sheets. These numbers come to mind first when trying to evaluate a football player. Scored 30 goals in the season — he is good. Made 15 assistive passes — a valuable player. But football has long ceased to be such simple mathematics. In 2026, the evaluation of efficiency is a complex cocktail of traditional statistics, big data analysis, neural networks, and even psychological tests. How to understand who is truly useful for the team and who is just "padding numbers"? Goals and assists: classic, which has not become outdated The main indicators of efficiency for forwards and attacking midfielders are goals and assistive passes. It is believed that a top striker should score at least 0.5 goals per game. In the 2025 APL, Erling Haaland had a score of 1.2 goals per match — a phenomenon. Assists: for wingers, the norm is 0.3-0.4 assists per game. However, goals and passes do not always reflect the real contribution. A player may score 10 goals, but all of them in already won matches, not affecting the result. Therefore, the statistics are supplemented with "goals in key moments" (in the first halves, at 0:0, in matches against top teams). Expected goals (xG): statistics of the quality of moments The most popular advanced indicator today is xG (expected goals). It measures the quality of the shot: from what position, with what foot, at what angle, after what pass, considering the defenders. xG from 0.1 to 0.3 is considered low, 0.3-0.6 is average, above 0.6 is high. A player who scores more than his xG (for example, 20 goals with xG 15) exceeds the norm and is considered "cool-headed". The one who scores less (10 with xG 15) is unrealized. In 2026, xG is used everywhere, even in amateur leagues with the help of mobile applications. Expected assists (xA) and key passes Similarly to xG, there is xA (expected assists). It measures how qualitatively a player creates moments for partners. A pass to an empty goal has a hi ... Read more