Pass Completion and Passing Accuracy Calculator
Pass Completion and Passing Accuracy Calculator
Pass completion percentage in association football from completed and attempted passes, with passes per 90 minutes beside it. Opta publishes this definition in words, which is more than can be said for possession percentage.
Pass completion from completed and attempted
Completed ÷ attempted1,860 passes completed from 2,130 attempted, over 2,880 minutes
Formula
Passes attempted per 90 = (passes attempted ÷ minutes played) × 90
- whose definition this is
- Opta’s, published in words on its own definitions pages: “This is simply a formula where successful passes are divided by total attempted passes.” FIFA’s data-analysis glossary at the FIFA Training Centre defines a completion rate in the same shape — “the percentage of successful actions completed by a player or team” — which is a second publisher stating the arithmetic rather than a second number
- what counts as completed
- Opta: “a pass that goes to a teammate directly without a touch from an opposition player”. A deflected ball that still finds a team-mate is therefore not a completed pass on that definition, which is a narrower test than most readers expect
- crosses
- Opta notes that crosses are usually excluded from pass completion and tracked separately. That single convention can move a wide player’s figure several points, so the number is only comparable within one source
- why possession percentage is not on this page
- because nobody publishes a formula for it. Opta defines a possession — “one or more sequences in a row belonging to the same team” — but publishes no percentage calculation, and the familiar pass-count proxy, one side’s passes over both sides’ passes, is a convention with no published definition behind it. A page cannot state two sources for a possession figure, so this one computes the statistic that is defined and says plainly that the other is not
- the per-90 rows
- a volume measure, not an accuracy one, and a reminder that completion and quantity move in opposite directions: the safest way to raise a completion percentage is to attempt fewer difficult passes. For goals and assists on the same denominator see the goals per 90 minutes calculator
Worked example
1,860 passes completed from 2,130 attempted, over 2,880 minutes
1,860 ÷ 2,130 = 0.8732, so pass completion is 87.3%
2,130 − 1,860 = 270 passes not completed
2,130 ÷ 2,880 × 90 = 66.6 passes attempted per 90 minutes
1,860 ÷ 2,880 × 90 = 58.1 passes completed per 90 minutes
Double both pass totals — 3,720 from 4,260 — and the percentage is unchanged at 87.3, which is the check that it really is a rate
Halve the attempts with the completions unchanged and it would exceed 100, so the panel refuses instead: on a rate test, use a pair that stays valid — 200 of 500 is 40.0% and 200 of 250 is 80.0%
Enter more completed than attempted, or zero attempted, and the panel shows nothing rather than an impossible percentage
Defined, and not defined: why one of these is a calculator and the other is not
| Figure | Is there a published formula? | What this site does |
|---|---|---|
| Pass completion | Yes. Opta: “successful passes are divided by total attempted passes” | Computes it, above, and names the publisher |
| Completion rate, generally | Yes. FIFA Training Centre: “the percentage of successful actions completed by a player or team” | The same arithmetic, from a second publisher |
| Possession percentage | No. Opta defines a possession as “one or more sequences in a row belonging to the same team” and publishes no percentage formula | Not offered. The pass-count proxy is a provider convention with no published definition, and a page that printed it would be inventing a standard |
| Expected goals | No. Every provider fits its own model and none publishes its coefficients | Takes the reader’s own figure — see the expected goals difference calculator |
The same arithmetic across a range, including the two refusals
| Completed | Attempted | Pass completion | Not completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 500 | 0.0% | 500 |
| 200 | 500 | 40.0% | 300 |
| 200 | 250 | 80.0% | 50 |
| 250 | 500 | 50.0% | 250 |
| 400 | 500 | 80.0% | 100 |
| 800 | 1,000 | 80.0% | 200 |
| 1,860 | 2,130 | 87.3% | 270 |
| 500 | 500 | 100.0% | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | no answer — more completed than attempted | no answer |
| 0 | 0 | no answer — a percentage of no passes does not exist | no answer |
The statistic with a published definition, beside the one without
Passing in association football — soccer — is what this page measures: the eleven-a-side game played under the IFAB Laws of the Game. A completion percentage in American football means a quarterback’s completed passes and is a different statistic with a different denominator, and nothing here applies to it. Pass completion is two counts and a division, and the only thing that makes it worth a page is that the definition behind the two counts is published and most of the figures beside it on a match report are not. Opta states the arithmetic in its own words — “This is simply a formula where successful passes are divided by total attempted passes” — and defines a completed pass as “a pass that goes to a teammate directly without a touch from an opposition player”. FIFA’s own data-analysis glossary defines a completion rate the same way, as “the percentage of successful actions completed by a player or team”.
Possession percentage, which sits next to pass completion on every broadcast, has no such definition anywhere. Opta defines a possession — “one or more sequences in a row belonging to the same team” — and publishes no formula that turns possessions into a percentage of a match. The familiar proxy, one team’s passes divided by both teams’ passes, is a convention different providers apply differently and nobody has written down. So this page computes pass completion, does not offer possession beside it, and says why rather than leaving a gap a reader would read as an oversight.
The figure is a rate, with a rate’s properties: double the completed and attempted passes together and it does not move, halve the attempts and it doubles, and it is bounded between 0 and 100 by construction. That bound is why the panel refuses a completed total larger than the attempted total instead of printing something above 100 — that input is a transposition or a mixed pair of sources, and a number would hide it. It refuses zero attempts for the same reason the per-90 pages refuse zero minutes: a percentage with nothing in the denominator does not exist, and a zero would be a different and false claim.
What it will not tell you is whether the passing was any good. The cheapest way to raise a pass completion percentage is to stop attempting the passes that might fail, so a side circulating the ball across its own back line and a side playing forward through midfield can finish on the same figure with the second having done something far harder. That is also why crosses matter: Opta notes they are usually excluded and tracked separately, which can move a wide player’s number by several points depending on the source. Read the percentage beside the volume — the per-90 rows above, or the goals per 90 minutes calculator for output rather than passing — and take both from one place. No governing body publishes any of the figures on this page. Each one is a statistics provider’s definition, and a provider’s definition is a convention rather than a rule: two of them can watch the same match and count it differently, and neither is wrong. So take every number here from one source, say which source it was, and do not read a figure from one provider against a figure from another.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate pass completion percentage?
Divide the passes a player or team completed by the passes they attempted and multiply by 100. Opta publishes the definition in those words: “successful passes are divided by total attempted passes”. 1,860 of 2,130 is 87.3%.
What counts as a completed pass?
On Opta’s published definition, “a pass that goes to a teammate directly without a touch from an opposition player”. A ball that reaches a team-mate after a defender has touched it is therefore not a completed pass, which is stricter than most people assume. Opta also notes that crosses are usually excluded from the figure and tracked separately.
Why does this page not calculate possession percentage?
Because no provider publishes a formula for it. Opta defines a possession as “one or more sequences in a row belonging to the same team” but gives no percentage calculation, and the common pass-count proxy is a convention with no published definition. Computing it here would mean inventing a standard and presenting it as the industry’s.
Is a high pass completion percentage good?
Not on its own, and no governing body publishes a benchmark. The surest way to raise the figure is to attempt fewer passes that might fail, so a side passing sideways in its own half can match a side playing through midfield. Read it against the volume — passes attempted per 90 is shown above — and against the position.
Why does the calculator refuse when completed is higher than attempted?
Because that cannot happen, so the figure would be a data error rather than a result. It usually means the two numbers came from different sources or different periods. Pass completion is bounded at 100% by construction, and the panel shows nothing instead of printing something above it.
Related calculators
References
- Opta Analyst (Stats Perform). “Opta football stats definitions.” theanalyst.com, July 2024. Pass completion: “successful passes are divided by total attempted passes”. Expected goals “measures the quality of a chance by calculating the likelihood that it will be scored”.
- Stats Perform. “Opta Event Definitions.” statsperform.com; and Opta Analyst, “Opta football stats definitions”, theanalyst.com. Read for: Shot on Target, “A deliberate attempt to score that is on target”, covering goals, goalkeeper saves and a last-line goal-line clearance; “A shot hitting the frame of the goal is classified as a shot off target unless the ball subsequently enters the net”; Hit Woodwork; Pass, “The attempted delivery of the ball from one player to another player on the same team”; Pass Completion, “successful passes are divided by total attempted passes”, with crosses usually excluded; and Possessions, with no percentage formula given. The page’s diagrams are image-only and nothing is taken from them.
- FIFA. “Data analysis definitions.” FIFA Training Centre, fifatrainingcentre.com, 29 July 2024. Publishes “per 90 minutes”, “per 60 minutes ball in play time” and “per 30 minutes in / out of possession” as three separate normalisations, and defines a completion rate as “the percentage of successful actions completed by a player or team”.
- The IFAB. Laws of the Game, Law 7 — The Duration of the Match (sections 7.1 and 7.3). Zurich: The International Football Association Board. “A match lasts for two equal halves of 45 minutes.”