Counterattack Initiation Zones Account for Apparent Differences Between Men’s and Women’s Professional Soccer: Evidence From Japan’s J-League and WE League
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21081573%20Keywords:
Counterattack, Soccer tactics, Gender comparison, Initiation zoneAbstract
This study investigated whether apparent differences in counterattack characteristics between men’s and women’s professional soccer reflect true executional differences or are primarily driven by variations in initiation zones. All counterattack goals from Japan’s J-League (men) and WE League (women) were analyzed. Counterattacks were classified according to initiation zone (defensive, middle, or attacking third), and three variables were quantified: attacking time from ball recovery to goal, number of attacking players involved, and number of passes.
Chi-square analyses revealed significant differences in the distribution of initiation zones between leagues, with the J-League showing a more balanced distribution and the WE League exhibiting a greater proportion of counterattacks initiated in advanced areas. However, generalized linear models showed no significant League × Zone interaction effects for attacking time, number of players, or number of passes. This indicates that execution patterns were broadly similar across leagues once initiation zone was considered.
Overall gender differences in counterattack metrics therefore appear to largely reflect compositional effects related to initiation zones rather than fundamental differences in tactical execution. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for spatial context when comparing tactical performance between men’s and women’s soccer.
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Copyright (c) 2026 TAIKI MIYAZAWA, Ryosuke Yamauchi, Mirai Mizutani, Daisuke Ichikawa
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