What is Expected Goals in FIFA 22? How xG is calculated
Expected Goals is a new stat in FIFA 22 that pops up at the end of each Ultimate Team and Career Mode match, but what does it actually mean? We’ve got the lowdown on what xG is, and how it’s calculated, right here.
FIFA 22 tracks more stats throughout a match than any other game in the series up to this point.
Whether you’re playing Ultimate Team or Career Mode, you are presented with a full breakdown of your performance to see what you got right, or what you got horribly wrong.
One of the new stats that has been given a lot of credibility in FIFA 22 is Expected Goals, but what exactly does it mean?
What is Expected Goals (xG) in FIFA 22?
Simply put, Expected Goals is the number of times a team “should” have scored based on its performance in the game.
New from EA in FIFA 22, it’s a great way to assess how clinical your strikers have been in front of goal, and where you possibly need to improve.
If your Expected Goals is in the fours and fives but the game finished 1-0, it means that you were either slightly wasteful on the attack or the opponent’s goalkeeper was in top form.
Likewise, if the xG is under one but you ran out with a two-goal win, it means you didn’t make many chances but were devastating when they did arise.
How is Expected Goals calculated in FIFA 22?
Each shot you take in FIFA 22 is awarded a rating between zero and one based on how likely it was to fly into the net. Zero being impossible to score and one being almost guaranteed.
A huge amount of factors are taken into account when working out the xG. It would be impossible to list every single one, but these are some of the most important:
- Distance from goal
- Angle to the net
- Type of assist (through-ball, cross ect.)
- Position of defenders
- Type of shot
- Body part (Foot or header)
- Type of attack (such as a counter-attack)
- One v one
At the end of every match, the probability of every shot you had being a goal is added together, and that is the xG stat displayed in the post-game menu.
While having a higher Expected Goals doesn’t necessarily mean a team deserved to win, it is a good indicator of how one-sided a match was.
If your xG is consistently far higher than the number of times you actually score, don’t be afraid to head onto the training pitch and practice the shooting drills.
These can drastically help a player choose the right shot in any given situation, and will give you a better feel of how to work a chance.
For more on FIFA 22, check out every promotion in this year’s game, as well as the latest Team of the Week.
Image credits: EA
