import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
# Match order (Latest to Earliest)
matches = ["Final/\nBronze", "SF", "QF", "R16", "R32", "GS3", "GS2", "GS1"]
x = np.arange(len(matches))
data = {
"Spain":{
"xGF":[2.29,1.63,1.96,1.69,2.32,0.86,2.30,2.10],
"xGA":[0.22,0.31,0.34,0.63,0.32,0.20,0.14,0.20],
"Opp":["ARG","FRA","BEL","POR","AUT","URU","KSA","CPV"]
},
"Argentina":{
"xGF":[0.22,1.59,1.94,2.84,2.26,2.13,2.36,1.26],
"xGA":[2.29,0.53,0.47,0.89,0.47,0.76,0.53,0.32],
"Opp":["ESP","ENG","SUI","EGY","CPV","JOR","AUT","ALG"]
},
"England":{
"xGF":[2.88,0.53,1.04,1.61,2.16,1.56,1.36,3.20],
"xGA":[2.88,1.59,0.68,1.88,0.77,0.66,0.17,0.70],
"Opp":["FRA","ARG","NOR","MEX","COD","PAN","GHA","CRO"]
},
"France":{
"xGF":[2.88,0.31,3.69,1.45,3.24,1.50,2.67,1.79],
"xGA":[2.88,1.63,0.14,0.13,0.70,1.70,0.63,0.53],
"Opp":["ENG","ESP","MAR","PAR","SWE","NOR","IRQ","SEN"]
}
}
fig, axes = plt.subplots(2,2,figsize=(15,10),sharex=True,sharey=True)
axes = axes.flatten()
for ax, (team, values) in zip(axes, data.items()):
diff = np.array(values["xGF"]) - np.array(values["xGA"])
ax.plot(
x,
diff,
color="darkgreen",
marker="o",
linewidth=3,
markersize=8
)
ax.fill_between(
x,
0,
diff,
where=(diff >= 0),
color="forestgreen",
alpha=0.25
)
ax.fill_between(
x,
0,
diff,
where=(diff < 0),
color="crimson",
alpha=0.25
)
ax.axhline(0, color="black", linewidth=1)
# Labels
for xi, d, opp in zip(x, diff, values["Opp"]):
offset = 12 if d >= 0 else -18
ax.annotate(
f"{d:+.2f}",
(xi, d),
xytext=(0, offset),
textcoords="offset points",
ha="center",
fontsize=8,
fontweight="bold",
bbox=dict(facecolor="white",
edgecolor="none",
alpha=0.8)
)
ax.annotate(
opp,
(xi, d),
xytext=(0, -offset),
textcoords="offset points",
ha="center",
fontsize=8,
fontweight="bold",
color="navy"
)
ax.set_title(team, fontsize=15, fontweight="bold")
ax.set_xticks(x)
ax.set_xticklabels(matches)
ax.grid(True, linestyle="--", alpha=0.35)
ax.set_ylim(-2.5,3.5)
fig.suptitle(
"2026 FIFA World Cup Semi-finalists\nMatch-by-Match xG Difference (xGF − xGA)",
fontsize=19,
fontweight="bold"
)
fig.supxlabel("Tournament Stage", fontsize=13, fontweight="bold")
fig.supylabel("xG Difference", fontsize=13, fontweight="bold")
plt.tight_layout(rect=[0,0,1,0.95])
plt.show()
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