GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
How does Opta distinguish tackles, interceptions and blocked passes?
Opta requires a legal ground-level challenge on an opponent in controlled possession for a tackle; won or lost depends on what happens to the ball. Interceptions and blocked passes describe different ways of cutting out a pass.
For Soccer fans and readers interpreting defensive-action statistics · Updated
A tackle begins with controlled possession
Opta defines a tackle as a legal, ground-level challenge in which a player connects with the ball and takes it away from an opponent who had controlled possession. A touch or attempted challenge alone is not enough to meet that definition.
The event can still be recorded as a tackle even when the defending team does not keep the ball. Opta distinguishes the event from the outcome that follows it.
Won or lost follows the next possession
Opta marks a tackle as won when the tackler or a teammate regains possession because of the challenge, or when the ball goes out safely. It marks a tackle as lost when the ball goes to an opponent. A lost tackle is therefore not the same as a missed challenge in this glossary.
- Tackler or teammate secures the ball after the challenge: tackle won.
- Ball goes to an opponent: tackle lost.
- Ball leaves play and is safe after the challenge: tackle won under the stated definition.
Reading a pass differs from blocking it
An interception is recorded when a player reads an opponent’s pass and moves into its intended line. A blocked pass is an attempt to cut out an opponent’s pass by any means; Opta describes it as similar to an interception but involving less reading of the pass.
Use the observable route of the ball and the coded event distinction. The public definitions do not ask readers to guess what a defender intended.
Four fictional defensive actions
In a fictional sequence, a ball carrier controls the ball and a defender makes a legal ground-level challenge. If the tackler’s teammate collects it, label the tackle won; if an opponent comes away with it, label the tackle lost. In a separate sequence, a defender moves into the intended path of a pass and intercepts it. On another pass, a defender reacts to cut the ball out without anticipating its lane: that illustrates a blocked pass. Each example states what the ball carrier controlled and who ended with the ball, without assigning hidden motives.
Related questions
Can an Opta tackle be lost and still count as a tackle?
Yes. Opta calls it a tackle when the stated challenge condition is met, then labels it lost if the ball goes to an opponent.
What distinguishes an interception from a blocked pass in Opta data?
An interception involves moving into the intended passing line after reading the pass. A blocked pass is an attempt to cut it out by any means and involves less reading in the source description.