Football has no more secrets: Google's AI predicts actions 8 seconds before they happen

Palmeiras is the first football club in the world to adopt TacticAI for open play analysis. The announcement was made during Google for Brazil, an event in which Google presented its main technological initiatives for the Brazilian market.

A dynamic graph to read the field

TacticAI is a system of geometric deep learning developed by Google DeepMind that treats each player as a node within a dynamic graph, modeling the spatial relationships between all elements on the field. Based on these representations, the system makes predictions about game dynamics up to 8 seconds into the future and generates tactical recommendations. Palmeiras' scientific staff has access to a drag-and-drop interface to virtually reposition players and observe how each modification affects the collective behavior of both teams.

The system had been previously employed exclusively for set pieces, particularly corners. The partnership with Palmeiras marks its first use in open play, extending analysis to the entire course of a match.

From Liverpool to the Brazilian World Cups

The system is the result of years of research conducted with Liverpool FC: experts from the English club preferred TacticAI's tactical indications in 90% of cases compared to the actual tactical configurations used in matches. The research was published in Nature Communications on March 19, 2024.

Football has moved slower than other professional sports in adopting AI-based tactical analysis tools: baseball has relied on Statcast for years, and basketball on Second Spectrum for real-time tracking of all players' movements.

At Google for Brazil, Google also announced a partnership with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to employ TacticAI in preparing the national team for the upcoming World Cup.