More direct attacks increase likelihood of goals in 2018- and 2022-Men's World Cup Soccer Finals.

In soccer, attacking tactics can vary between elaborate, high passing play and play that involves very direct, straight-line action towards the towards the opponent's goal. It is of considerable interest to individuals involved which type of play is more effective in scoring given that goals are a rare event. We propose a geometric measure of directness (DIR) using the ratio between the straight-line distance from the point where possession begins to the centre of goal, and the total distance covered by the ball during that possession.