THE GAME PLAN.

Two kinds of question

• Where should they pass? Click the spot on the pitch where the ball carrier should send the pass.
• Where should you be? You are one of the players. Click where you should move to. Shirt numbers are the real ones from the match; your playing position (centre forward, left back, …) is shown next to your number, so "White 9" is a shirt, not a role.

Reading the reveal

◆ Your answer

The spot you chose. The gold ring around a shirt marks the player you’re deciding for.

● Model pick

The model’s preferred option. It’s a recommendation, and other choices can score well too.

○ Match play

Where the ball or receiver went in the real match. It shows what happened, which isn’t always the best decision.

Brighter heat-map areas show stronger model-rated options. Watch the continuation, then compare the markers when the play returns to the decision frame.

How you earn points

Each answer earns 10–100 points. Pass scores reward both your choice of receiver and where you place the ball. Positioning scores reward useful spaces. You don’t have to copy the model’s first pick to score well.

• Strong alternatives: 70+. A pass to another receiver earns at least 70 when the model rates the option as strong enough and your placement as viable.
• Read the match play. Choose a spot within 5 m of the real target and we recognize the match, even if the model preferred something else.
• Supported match plays: 80+. Matching earns at least 80 only when the pass was completed and the model also supports your chosen option and placement. For pass questions, you must be aiming at the real receiver.
• A match isn’t an automatic 100. Real players can make weaker choices. Recognition and scoring are separate; a higher score comes from the quality of your decision and placement.

• 🟩 Elite · 90+
• 🟨 Solid · 70+
• 🟧 Meh · 40+
• 🟥 Sunday League · 0+

Where do the answers come from?

Pass questions are judged by a model trained on 128,660 open-play passes by professionals (AFCON 2023, World Cup 2022, Euro 2024, Euro 2020). It looks at the same picture you see, every player's position, and estimates where a pro would send the ball. The heat map combines estimated pass frequency and value; MODEL PICK marks the preferred option. On matches it never saw, the real pass landed inside the model's top 10% of the pitch 85% of the time.

The percentages in the results are model estimates of how often players choose an option, not its chance of success. The model learns from professional matches, but its recommendation is not a consensus of professional players judging this moment.

Positioning questions use a second model trained on where receivers actually moved to take the ball (31,792 real receptions). The freeze is a real moment a second or two before a pass; the heat shows where receivers go from that picture, and where the real player went is marked separately. Football is never certain, so treat every answer as a strong opinion, not a verdict.

Training data: StatsBomb open data.

Ranks (out of 500)

• 450+ · Ballon d'Or
• 400+ · World Class
• 350+ · International
• 275+ · First-Team Regular
• 200+ · Squad Player
• 100+ · Academy Prospect
• 0+ · Sunday League