{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T10:26:03Z","timestamp":1770978363216,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770940800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Data"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Ball velocity is a critical determinant of shot effectiveness in football, yet its influence on advanced post-shot metrics, such as expected shot impact timing (xSIT) and expected goals on target (xGOT), remains poorly understood, particularly in the context of sex-specific differences. This study examined the relationship between ball velocity and these metrics in men\u2019s and women\u2019s elite European tournaments. Methods: A total of 2174 shots were analyzed from all matches of the 2024 UEFA Men\u2019s EURO (n = 1305) and 2025 UEFA Women\u2019s EURO (n = 869), classified as goal shots on target, non-goal shots on target, and shots off target. Ball velocity was measured for each shot, and its associations with xSIT, our own xGOT model and the StatsBomb xGOT model were quantified using correlation coefficients. Results: Ball velocity differed significantly between sexes (p &lt; 0.001), with higher values in men, and goal shots on target exhibited lower velocities than non-goal or off-target shots, indicating a speed\u2013accuracy trade-off. Only xSIT and our own xGOT model were sensitive to ball velocity, reflecting sex-specific differences (p &lt; 0.001). When comparing shot types across advanced metrics, a consistent trend was observed in both tournaments: xSIT showed no significant differences between goal and non-goal shots, whereas both xGOT models were higher for goal shots on target. Correlations indicated a moderate positive relationship between xSIT and ball velocity, and moderate negative correlations for both xGOT models, slightly stronger in men. Conclusions: Ball velocity is a critical factor influencing shot performance and advanced post-shot metrics, with notable sex-specific differences.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/data11020039","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T09:09:19Z","timestamp":1770973759000},"page":"39","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Role of Shot Velocity in Advanced Post-Shot Metrics: Evidence from the UEFA European Football Championships"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8499-9760","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Blanca","family":"De-la-Cruz-Torres","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, University of Seville, c\/Avicena s\/n, 41009 Seville, Spain"}]},{"given":"Anselmo","family":"Ruiz-de-Alarc\u00f3n-Quintero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Football and Handball Academy, Street n\u00ba 12B, Office 6, 41960 Seville, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-5452-8716","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miguel","family":"Navarro-Castro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Mathematics I, Higher Technical School of Architecture, University of Seville, Avd. Reina Mercedes s\/n, 41012 Seville, Spain"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"799","DOI":"10.1080\/17461391.2014.908956","article-title":"Three-dimensional kinematic correlates of ball velocity during maximal instep soccer kicking in males","volume":"14","author":"Sinclair","year":"2014","journal-title":"Eur. J. Sport Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"805","DOI":"10.1080\/02640414.2010.481305","article-title":"The biomechanics of kicking in soccer: A review","volume":"28","author":"Lees","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Sports Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111208","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2022.111208","article-title":"Identifying the best strategy for soccer penalty success: A predictive model for optimising behavioural and biomechanical trade-offs","volume":"141","author":"Hunter","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Biomech."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gonz\u00e1lez-Jarr\u00edn, P., Fern\u00e1ndez-Fern\u00e1ndez, J., Garc\u00eda-Tormo, J.V., and Guti\u00e9rrez Garc\u00eda, C. (2025). Neuromuscular performance of high-level football goalkeepers by age category and sex: A systematic review. J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol., 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/jfmk10040398"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1515\/jqas-2022-0107","article-title":"Miss it like Messi: Extracting value from off-target shots in soccer","volume":"20","author":"Baron","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Quant. Anal. Sports"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ruiz-de-Alarc\u00f3n-Quintero, A., and De-la-Cruz-Torres, B. (2024). An expected goals on target (xGOT) metric as a new metric for analyzing elite soccer player performance. Data, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/data9090102"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Smith, R. (2022). Expected Goals: The Story of How Data Conquered Football and Changed the Game Forever, Mudlark\u2014HarperCollins Publishers."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Goodman, M. (2025, December 29). A New Way to Measure Keepers\u2019 Shot Stopping: Post-Shot Expected Goals. Available online: https:\/\/statsbomb.com\/articles\/soccer\/a-new-way-to-measure-keepers-shot-stopping-post-shot-expected-goals\/."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"De-la-Cruz-Torres, B., Navarro-Castro, M., and Ruiz-de-Alarc\u00f3n-Quintero, A. (2025). Quantifying football shooting precision: The expected shot impact timing (xSIT) approach. Appl. Sci., 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/app15126735"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"De-la-Cruz-Torres, B., Navarro-Castro, M., and Ruiz-de-Alarc\u00f3n-Quintero, A. (2025). Expected shot impact timing (xSIT) and other advanced metrics as indicators of performance in English men\u2019s and women\u2019s professional football. Data, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/data10100159"},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"StatsBomb (2025, December 29). Open Data: Competitions. Available online: https:\/\/github.com\/statsbomb\/open-data\/blob\/master\/data\/competitions.json."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100034","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fraope.2023.100034","article-title":"A machine learning approach for player and position adjusted expected goals in football (soccer)","volume":"4","author":"Hewitt","year":"2023","journal-title":"Frankl. Open"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1186\/s40537-025-01239-x","article-title":"Reassessing the impact of shared experience in football","volume":"12","author":"Carling","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Big Data"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2217","DOI":"10.1080\/02640414.2022.2139881","article-title":"Sex difference in soccer instep kicking","volume":"40","author":"Iitake","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Sports Sci."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"72","article-title":"Kinematic instep kicking differences between elite female and male soccer players","volume":"1","author":"Barfield","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Sports Sci. Med."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1080\/14763141.2015.1056221","article-title":"Age and gender differences in kinematics of powerful instep kicks in soccer","volume":"14","author":"Katis","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sports Biomech."},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"1072","article-title":"Gender differences in instep soccer kicking biomechanics investigated through a 3D human motion tracker system","volume":"60","author":"Ruscello","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Sports Med. Phys. Fit."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e19976","DOI":"10.7717\/peerj.19976","article-title":"Sex differences in association football: A scoping review","volume":"13","author":"Xu","year":"2025","journal-title":"PeerJ"},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, L. Erlbaum Associates. [2nd ed.]. Available online: https:\/\/search.worldcat.org\/title\/statistical-power-analysis-for-the-behavioral-sciences\/oclc\/17877467."},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"62","article-title":"Sex differences in bone density, geometry, and bone strength of competitive soccer players","volume":"20","author":"Baker","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Musculoskelet. Neuronal. Interact."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2329","DOI":"10.1519\/JSC.0000000000002662","article-title":"Sex differences in physical capacities of German Bundesliga soccer players","volume":"34","author":"Baumgart","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Strength Cond. Res."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Toro-Rom\u00e1n, V., Grijota, F.J., Mu\u00f1oz, D., Maynar-Mari\u00f1o, M., Clemente-Gil, S., and Robles-Gil, M.C. (2023). Anthropometry, Body Composition, and Physical Fitness in Semi-Professional Soccer Players: Differences between Sexes and Playing Position. Appl. Sci., 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/app13031249"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1809","DOI":"10.1080\/14763141.2021.1981426","article-title":"It\u2019s not all about power: A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing sex-based differences in kicking biomechanics in soccer","volume":"23","author":"Boyne","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sports Biomech."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mead, J., O\u2019Hare, A., and McMenemy, P. (2023). Expected goals in football: Improving model performance and demonstrating value. PLoS ONE, 18.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0282295"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Anzer, G., and Bauer, P. (2021). A goal scoring probability model for shots based on synchronized positional and event data in football (soccer). Front. Sports Act. Living, 3.","DOI":"10.3389\/fspor.2021.624475"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"De-la-Cruz-Torres, B., Navarro-Castro, M., and Ruiz-de-Alarc\u00f3n-Quintero, A. (2025). An expected goals on target (xGOT) model: Accounting for goalkeeper performance in football. Big Data Cogn. Comput., 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/bdcc9030064"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pappalardo, L., Rossi, A., Natilli, M., and Cintia, P. (2021). Explaining the difference between men\u2019s and women\u2019s football. PLoS ONE, 16.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0255407"}],"container-title":["Data"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-5729\/11\/2\/39\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T09:43:32Z","timestamp":1770975812000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-5729\/11\/2\/39"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]]},"references-count":27,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["data11020039"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/data11020039","relation":{},"ISSN":["2306-5729"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2306-5729","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]]}}}