Castrol Index Home

Updated Mar. 27, 2013

What is the Castrol U.S. Soccer Index?

The Castrol Index is the Official Performance Index of the U.S. Soccer Federation and uses the latest technology to objectively analyze player performance to help you see soccer from a completely different perspective.

How is the Castrol Index calculated?

The Castrol Index tracks every move on the field and assesses whether it has a positive or negative impact on a team's ability to score or concede a goal.

A key factor for all areas of performance in the Castrol Index is in which zone on the pitch the action takes place. Players receive points for each successful pass they complete, but the number of points awarded depends on which zones the ball is passed from and received in. Similarly, misplaced or intercepted passes are penalized depending on how much trouble the mistake is likely to land the team in.

The Castrol Index is also able to split up the rewards of a goal between penalizing the goalkeeper for letting in a shot he should have saved and rewarding the attacker for scoring a goal. The number of Castrol Index points awarded for tackles, interceptions and blocked shots also depends on which zone they are made. Successfully taking the ball from a striker near the penalty spot will earn more points than a tackle out on the wing. Conceding free kicks and penalties will result in deductions.

Where does the data come from that powers the Castrol Index?

Castrol uses the latest technology, working with U.S. Soccer and OPTA to log an average of 1,800 player movements per match. Castrol's team of performance analysts then crunch all the data and award each player a Castrol Index score - the higher the score the better the player's performance.

What U.S. Soccer matches will be covered and how will the players be rated?

Every U.S. MNT Friendly and FIFA World Cup™ qualifier will be analyzed in 2013.  In each match, every on-the-ball action in the match is assessed to create ratings for all players.
The ratings are combined to evaluate the average level at which the player is performing and to provide the total aggregate contribution from each player to the FIFA World Cup™ qualifying campaign.

Is the opposing team or location of the match a factor when calculating the Index?

Yes. Castrol performance analysts will take into account the location of the match and quality of the opponent when calculating the Castrol Index. A good performance against a strong team is rewarded more highly than an equivalent performance against a weaker team and is rewarded especially highly if the match is on the road.

How often will the Castrol Index be updated?

The Castrol Index will be update after each U.S. MNT friendly and FIFA World Cup™ qualifying match in 2013. Updates can be found at www.ussoccer.com/castrol.

• Brad Guzan Makes Three Saves as U.S. Defense Posts Second Consecutive Clean Sheet



• U.S. Earns its Second Point Ever in a World Cup Qualifying Match at Estadio Azteca



• Defender Matt Besler Earns Highest Score in Castrol Index, Omar Gonzalez Takes Lead in Aggregate Index Rating

• Omar Gonzalez is the highest-ranked player in the USA's first home World Cup Qualifier of 2013



• Goalscorer Clint Dempsey is atop the index after two qualifiers

• Dempsey is the top-ranked player in the USA's first World Cup Qualifier of 2013.



• F. Johnson and Gozalez highest-ranked defenders; Bradley best in the midfield.

• Strong defensive performance leads the way for U.S. in 2013 opener against Canada.



• Three of the four highest-rated players in the Index were part of the backline in Houston.