How teams play and win: Playing style profiles and performance outcomes in women's football

This study aimed to identify and classify team playing styles in women's football and to examine their relationship with performance outcomes. A dataset of 2322 team-match observations from the English Women's Super League and domestic cup matches (2017–2025 seasons) was analysed using a set of technical and tactical variables describing possession, ball progression, attacking organisation, and defensive behaviour. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed two main underlying dimensions of playing style, a possession–progression axis and a directness–tempo axis. Based on these dimensions, cluster analysis identified three distinct playing styles: low-possession reactive, direct long-ball, and possession-based progressive. External validation analyses showed significant differences between clusters across key performance indicators, including expected goals (xG), xG difference, shots on target, shots conceded, and match outcomes. In particular, the possession-based progressive style was associated with higher xG values, a positive xG difference, greater attacking output, lower defensive exposure, and a substantially higher probability of winning compared with the other styles. These findings indicate that differences in playing styles are closely related to both the creation and prevention of goal-scoring opportunities. Overall, this study provides an integrated perspective on team performance in women's football by linking playing style classification with probabilistic performance metrics, offering practical implications for coaching, tactical analysis, and match preparation.