Stats Perform

A few days on from the World Cup semi-finals, this France stat still stands out.

Against Spain, France had 0 shots on target in the opening 80 minutes.

Only one other team has done that in a World Cup semi-final since 1966: the Netherlands against Argentina in 2014.

With Opta Search, media teams can move quickly from a question to a publishable angle, using live data, historical records and match context to find the stories that keep coverage moving after the final whistle.

England play Argentina today for a place in the FIFA World Cup final, and one of England’s biggest storylines is clear.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have scored 12 of England’s 13 goals at the tournament, making them central to almost everything England have done in attack.

Opta Analyst looks at what that reliance says about England, and how it compares with other teams in World Cup history.

It is a great example of how Opta data can add context to the stories fans are already talking about before a huge match.

Read the full article 👇
https://bit.ly/454iuGx

France v Spain starts the FIFA World Cup semi-finals today.

Before the tournament kicked off, the Opta Predictor had Spain, France, England and Argentina as the four teams most likely to win it.

They are now the four semi-finalists.

It is a strong example of how predictive data can create credible storylines before a tournament begins, then give fans and media another reason to follow how those storylines develop.

See the original pre-tournament Opta Predictor article 👇
https://bit.ly/3RhEudR

Sports coverage is changing quickly.

Fans are watching live, following clips on social, checking stats and engaging across second screens, often all at the same time.

In SVG Europe’s Executive Perspectives 2026 feature, our Chief Marketing Officer, Charles Kaplan, shares his thoughts on the trends shaping the industry, from low-latency streaming and personalized content to AI-powered production workflows and smarter fan engagement.

Read Charles Kaplan’s full perspective here 👇
https://bit.ly/4pl54zt

Some World Cup stats are too good not to send to the person they’re about.

After Erling Haaland scored seven goals from his first 18 shots at the FIFA World Cup, OptaJoe posted that his 39% shot conversion was the best at a single tournament since Gary Lineker in 1986.

Our team shared the stat with producers of The Rest Is Football, who we’ve been working with throughout the tournament.

It was then shown on the programme with full OptaJoe credit, sparking a great discussion, and plenty of Micah Richards banter, about one World Cup record Haaland still has not quite beaten.

With England preparing to face Haaland’s Norway in the quarter-finals, it is a great example of how Opta’s historical data can bring old records back into the conversation at exactly the right moment.

The World Cup is taking most of the attention, but the transfer window has not slowed down.

The Overlap Breakdown recently used OptaVision data and graphics to look at reported moves involving Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, showing how player data can add more context to transfer discussions.

From line-breaking passes to pressure maps and player profiles, OptaVision helps media partners show what a player does well and how they could fit into a team.

Great to see Opta data being used to bring more depth to transfer-window storytelling.

See how OptaVision supports football analysis 👇
https://bit.ly/4yjcA1U