As you’re probably aware, we at Matchday are working on games and experiences that will allow you to test the strength of your squads in head-to-head matches against other teams.

We’ve had a lot of questions on how these matches will actually work, and now our lead designer Paul Vauvrey has provided some insight on the thinking behind these mechanics.

Our current hypothesis

As we want to ensure we are creating a game that is inclusive and straightforward enough for everyone to play, while still having a level of detail to ensure realistic and varying match outcomes, we have chosen to model footballer attributes using fundamental concepts away from physical performance factors, such as speed and strength.

With that in mind, we are focusing on four key concepts for each athlete: attack, defence, possession and pressing.

Natural oppositions

These concepts have natural oppositions that provide a certain orthogonality (i.e. variables that are uncorrelated) to the model and leverage two key concepts of football: possession and risk management.

How does it work?

If you’re confused, don’t worry – Paul recently joined us for an AMA session on Twitter Spaces to give more explanation on the process, and you can listen in full below...