luckadjusted
World Cup Final · 2026

Matchday 2 · World Cup 2018 · June 24, 2018

England 6–1 Panama: who deserved to win?

England beat Panama 6–1, and the replays back it up: with the way both teams played, England win 9 of 10, 1 end level. England made the better chances: 3.2 expected goals to 1.1.

Full time

TeamGoalsxG
England 6 3.17
Panama 1 1.08

June 24, 2018 · Stadion Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhniy Novgorod) · Referee: Ghead Grisha

Luck index +5 England about even · −5 Panama

Each team’s own shots from this match, resampled into new matches 4,000 times, each a goal at its expected-goals chance: with the way both teams actually played, how often does this performance win? How the replay works

Ten replays. England win 9, 1 ends level, Panama win 0.

  1. 1 ENG 2 PAN 1
  2. 2 ENG 4 PAN 2
  3. 3 ENG 5 PAN 2
  4. 4 ENG 5 PAN 2
  5. 5 ENG 4 PAN 0
  6. 6 ENG 4 PAN 0
  7. 7 ENG 6 PAN 1
  8. 8 ENG 6 PAN 0
  9. 9 ENG 9 PAN 1
  10. 10 ENG 3 PAN 3

The narrowest view of luck

The same match, with only the coin flips re-rolled: every shot kept where and how it was taken, its outcome redrawn at its chance (75% of finishing counts as luck), own goals at the league’s rate.

There is no betting line for this match, and no forecast from before kickoff: matches of past seasons are replayed, not forecast.

How 4,000 replays of the 90 minutes ended

England win 92%, 5% end level, Panama win 2%. The line is what actually happened: England by 5.

Show as a table
After 90 minutes in the replaysShare of replays
England by 3+68.4%
England by 214.2%
England by 19.7%
Draw5.3%
Panama by 11.7%
Panama by 20.5%
Panama by 3+0.2%

Where the luck was

FinishingShotsGoalsExpected goalsAbove expected
England11 (2 pen)63.17+2.83
Panama811.08−0.08

Own goals aren’t shots, so they’re counted on their own. A side above expected finished better than its chances, or met a goalkeeper on a bad day; 75% of the gap counts as luck (why that share).

The big chances, and every goal

MinuteChancexG
7'John Stones scored from a shot0.13
21'Harry Kane scored from a penalty0.78
35'Jesse Lingard scored from a shot0.06
39'Raheem Sterling didn’t score from a shot0.43
39'John Stones scored from a shot0.57
45'Harry Kane scored from a penalty0.78
61'Harry Kane scored from a shot0.20
75'Román Aureliano Torres Morcillo didn’t score from a shot0.56
77'Felipe Abdiel Baloy Ramírez scored from a shot0.17

When it happened

England’s chance of winning

Numbers mark the biggest luck moments, listed below.

Our in-game win probability: the score and the minutes left, with goals for the rest of the match at the league’s rates. A draw counts half, as in the replays. Shaded above the middle while England was ahead in it, below while Panama was.
#WhenWhat happenedWin probability for
1 3' Edgar Yoel Bárcenas Herrera didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 1% chance +0% ENG
2 4' Aníbal Cesis Godoy didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 11% chance +3% ENG
3 7' John Stones scored from a shotFinishing · 13% chance +21% ENG
4 15' Edgar Yoel Bárcenas Herrera didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 3% chance +1% ENG
5 21' Harry Kane scored from a penaltyFinishing · 78% chance +3% ENG
6 35' Jesse Lingard scored from a shotFinishing · 6% chance +5% ENG
7 39' Raheem Sterling didn’t score from a shotFinishing · 43% chance +0% PAN
8 39' John Stones scored from a shotFinishing · 57% chance +0% ENG

Adjust the assumptions

Think finishing is more skill than we do? Change how much of it counts as luck and the coin-flip replay of the 90 minutes reruns in your browser.

Only coin-flips re-rolled

England 99% · draw 1% · Panama 0%

Final margin
England by 5
Luck in goals
2.2 for England
Luck-adjusted margin
England by 2.8
Replay with same day's form
England 92% · draw 5% · Panama 2% unchanged: why
How much of each is luck?

0% treats it as skill, 100% as pure luck. The tick is our fit.

What counts
Flip a play

Force the other outcome, in this match and in every replay: a goal becomes a save, a chance goes in.

About these numbers

Expected goals per shot from StatsBomb’s open data; the replays, the in-game win probability and the luck shares are our own models, fitted and tested on every shot of four full league seasons and four tournaments, these matches included (methodology and validation). England win 95% of replays (a draw counted as half).

All matchday 2 matches, 2018 · England · Panama

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