The ARCHV / Glossary

Football, explained

The glossary

Plain answers to the football questions fans actually search. Every entry defines the term first, then explains how it works.

• xG (expected goals)xG, or expected goals, is a statistic that rates the quality of a chance as a number between 0 and 1.
• The false 9A false 9 is a centre-forward who drops deep into midfield instead of leading the line.
• The offside ruleA player is in an offside position if they are nearer the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last defender when the ball is played to them.
• VARVAR, the Video Assistant Referee, is an official who reviews replays and advises the referee on the pitch.