Soccer
What the Numbers Say About USMNT 2026: Talent Ceiling, Defensive Floor
The 2026 USMNT is the most talented US team ever assembled. The defensive floor has not moved in three years. Reading Group D without...
SportsHighLight · Author
Jess Tanaka
Jess Tanaka is the SportsHighLight NBA and WNBA lead. She writes the bulk of basketball coverage on both sides — lineup data, second-spectrum-style tracking interpretation, possession value, shot quality. Wrote the Possession Trap series and most of the WNBA pace pieces; the editor most likely to push back on a hot take with a chart.
Soccer
The Pre-World Cup Friendlies That Actually Mean Something (and the Ones That Dont)
Only about 12% of pre-World Cup friendlies carry tactical signal that holds in the tournament. Three filters separate signal from noise.
Soccer
Press Maps and Defensive Shapes: Reading Modern Football’s Tactical Geometry
Press maps and defensive shapes — what they show, how they're built, where they break, and how to read them in a match preview...
Methods
The Possession Trap: When 62 Percent of the Ball Means Less Than You Think
Possession sounds like control until the team with 38 percent gets the three best chances and walks away laughing.
Soccer
Beyond xG: The Quiet Rise of Possession Value Models in Football Analytics
Possession value models — what they measure, how they extend xG, where they break, and how to read them in a match report without...
Soccer
The Leicester Problem: Expected Goals, Honestly Explained
Expected goals (xG) in soccer, written by someone who is tired of seeing the metric weaponised. What the model measures, where it breaks, and...
Soccer
Set-Piece Analytics: Why Corners and Free Kicks Are More Underrated Than You Think
Set-piece analytics — what they measure, why they matter so much more than mainstream coverage suggests, where they break, and how to read them...
Soccer
La Liga Title Race Through xG: Reading the Final Stretch
By late April, La Liga’s title race has either tightened or settled. The points table records the answer. The xG…
Soccer
Goalkeeping Beyond Saves: Expected Goals on Target, Explained
Goalkeeping beyond saves — what post-shot xG actually measures, how the modern goalkeeping toolkit works, where the math breaks, and how to read a...
Soccer
Pressing Data Without the Costume: PPDA, Territory and the Limits of Public Models
A pundit on a Saturday afternoon broadcast describes the away team’s pressing as “intense” based on what looks like a…