Football stats glossary

Every metric on FDscout, in plain English · how it is measured and how to read it

FDscout tracks 120+ statistics for every player across 30 leagues, normalises them per 90 minutes or per 100 touches, and ranks everything as percentiles against players in the same position. This glossary explains the vocabulary. For how we combine stats into roles and badges, see the role library and trait library.

Expected goals and shot quality

xG (expected goals): The probability that a shot becomes a goal, judged on chance quality: distance, angle, assist type and situation. A player’s xG is the sum across all their shots. Scoring above xG over a sustained sample suggests above-average finishing.
npxG (non-penalty xG): Expected goals with penalties stripped out. Penalties carry a fixed high value that can flatter a total, so npxG is the cleaner read on open-play threat.
xGoT (expected goals on target): Chance quality measured after the shot is struck, using where in the goal it is headed. Only on-target shots carry xGoT. Comparing it with xG isolates ball striking from positioning.
xG per shot: Average chance quality per attempt. High values mean a player shoots from good positions; low values mean volume from range.
Goals above expected (npG minus npxG): Non-penalty goals minus non-penalty xG. Positive numbers over a real sample point to finishing skill; negative numbers to wasteful finishing or bad luck. FDscout only scores this once a player has meaningful xG volume.
Strike quality +/- (xGoT minus xG): How much a player’s striking of the ball adds to (or subtracts from) the quality of the chances they take. Positive: they make chances harder to save than the average player would.

Shooting

Shots and shots on target: All goal attempts, and those needing a save or scoring. Shots on target % is the share of attempts on target.
Goal conversion %: Goals divided by shots. Sensitive to shot selection: compare alongside xG per shot.
Big chances missed: Failures to score from situations judged as clear scoring opportunities. High-volume strikers accumulate some by definition.
Penalties scored, missed and won: Spot-kick record, plus penalties earned for the team by being fouled in the box.

Creation

Assists: The final pass or touch before a teammate scores.
Key passes: Passes leading directly to a shot, whether or not it scores.
Chances created: Key passes plus assists: every shot a player’s passing directly produced.
Big chances created: Passes producing situations judged as clear scoring opportunities: the highest-value creation.
Through balls (and won): Passes played between or behind the defensive line for a runner; ‘won’ counts those that reach their man.
Crosses and cross completion %: Deliveries into the box from wide areas, and the share finding a teammate.

Possession and passing

Touches: Every involvement with the ball: the base measure of how much a player is in the game.
Pass completion %: Share of attempted passes that reach a teammate. Read it with volume and risk: safe sideways passers score high by default.
Passes per 100 touches: Pass volume normalised by involvement: distinguishes players who move the ball on from players who carry it.
Passes into the final third: Completed passes into the attacking third: a core measure of progression.
Long balls and long ball %: Passes over distance and their completion rate.
Possession security %: The share of a player’s touches that do not end in possession lost: an FDscout composite of dispossessions, failed actions and turnovers.
Possession lost / dispossessed per 100 touches: How often a player gives the ball away, normalised by involvement. Lower is better; FDscout inverts these when scoring percentiles.
Dribbles, attempts and success %: Take-ons attempted, completed, and the completion share. Dribbles per 100 touches shows how often a player chooses to carry.
Fouls drawn per 100 touches: How often a player wins a foul relative to involvement: a proxy for how hard they are to play against.

Defending

Tackles and tackles won %: Challenges made and the share won cleanly.
Interceptions: Reading play to cut out a pass.
Ball recoveries: Loose balls collected to regain possession.
Duels won %: Share of all ground and aerial contests won.
Aerials won and aerial win %: Headed duels won, in volume and rate. Aerial dominance is an FDscout composite of both, so one-duel-a-game players cannot top it.
Dribbled past: Times beaten by a take-on. Lower is better; FDscout inverts it when scoring.
1v1 stop rate %: An FDscout composite: how often a defender wins the duel when an opponent runs at them, rather than being beaten.
Shots blocked, clearances: Last-line interventions: blocks on opposition shots and balls cleared from danger.
Defensive workload: An FDscout composite of tackles, interceptions, recoveries, blocks and clearances: total defensive activity, best read per 90.
Last-man tackles: Tackles made as the final outfield player: rare and high-stakes.
Errors leading to a shot or goal: Mistakes the data provider judges directly caused a shot or goal against. Lower is better.
Offsides provoked: Opponents caught offside by a defender stepping up: evidence of a disciplined line.
Fouls and fouls per tackle: Fouls conceded, and conceded relative to tackling volume: separates aggressive-but-clean tacklers from clumsy ones.

Goalkeeping

Saves and save %: Shots stopped, and the share of on-target shots faced that were kept out.
xG conceded: The chance quality a keeper’s team allowed while they were on the pitch.
xG prevented: The xGoT of on-target shots faced minus goals actually conceded: how many goals the keeper’s shot-stopping saved versus an average keeper. FDscout’s headline goalkeeping metric.
Clean sheets: Matches of 60+ minutes with strictly no goals conceded while on the pitch.
High claims and punches: Crosses and high balls dealt with: claims caught cleanly, punches cleared but not secured.
Penalties faced and penalty save %: Spot kicks faced and the share saved.

How FDscout presents numbers

Per 90: Counting stats divided by minutes and scaled to a full match, so starters and substitutes compare fairly. FDscout applies minimum-minutes floors before ranking anyone.
Per 100 touches: Normalised by involvement instead of time: the best lens for style questions (how often does this player dribble, pass, get fouled when they have the ball).
Percentiles: Every stat is ranked against all players in the same position group across FDscout’s 30 leagues over the chosen window. The 90th percentile means better than 90% of that pool. Stats where lower is better are inverted so higher is always stronger.
Average rating: The data provider’s per-match performance rating, averaged over the window. FDscout colours it by band and uses it for form charts and the Team of the Week.
N/A values: Some leagues do not collect every stat. FDscout shows N/A rather than guessing, and excludes the player from percentile pools for that stat only.

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