Women vs men – technical and tactical efficiency in football

Women’s football is the sports game with the most spectacular development in recent years both in terms of the number of participants (approximately 40 million) and all other factors involved in this process (international federations, investments, spectators, etc.). The general perception that most specialists have about women’s football is: “Like amateur football, but in slow motion”. This perception has fundamentally changed with the significant improvement in the level of performance shown on the field by football players. The questions we are trying to answer by conducting this research are the following: Are there important technical and tactical differences between women’s and men’s high-performance football? If there are such differences, what relevance do they have for the preparation process? In this context, the present study represents acomparative analysis, from a technical and tactical point of view, of the teams ranked in the top 3 at the last World Cups for both men (2018 FIFA World Cup Russia) and women (2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup France). The data were obtained from the FIFA website and from live statistics provided during each World Cup game. The conclusions that will emerge from this study may represent directions for the further technical and tactical development of women’s football.