How Matches Work - The Match Engine Explained

How Matches Work

WLM uses a sophisticated match engine based on real football statistics. Here is how your matches are decided.

The Core Model - Chances x Conversion

The match engine calculates two key values for each team:

• Chances - How many scoring opportunities your team creates, driven by your Creative pot strength
• Conversion Rate - How likely each chance is to result in a goal, driven by your Attacking pot vs their Defensive pot

These combine to produce your team's expected goals (xG). Final goals are then sampled from a Poisson distribution based on xG - meaning realistic scoreline variation, just like real football.

The Zone System

The pitch is divided into three zones: Defence, Midfield, and Attack. Your formation distributes your players' Performance Scores (PS) across these zones.

Zone Battles

• Your Attack fights their Defence
• Your Midfield battles their Midfield
• Your Defence faces their Attack

Winning a zone grants a +5% bonus to the corresponding pot (ATT zone win boosts ATT pot, etc.).

What Affects Your Match Performance

Player Performance (PS)

• Based on real-world match statistics from actual fixtures
• Players in their natural position get 100% PS; compatible positions 85%; out of position 75%

Formation and Tactics

• Formation zone weight multipliers (up to +/- 20% per zone)
• Game plan modifiers (up to +/- 15%)
• In-possession and out-of-possession strategy bonuses (when triggered)
• Halftime tactical adjustments (e.g. Push For It: +4% ATT, -2% DEF)

Squad Condition

• Morale - Ranges from Mutinous (-5%) to Ecstatic (+5%) based on your club morale level
• Training - Ranges from Unfit (-4%) to Elite (+4%) based on your training level
• Combined effect can swing team pot totals by up to +/- 9%
• Morale and training decay daily if neglected

Chemistry

• Built through co-appearances and shared nationality between lineup players
• Multiplier ranges from 0.95x (0 chemistry) to 1.05x (100 chemistry)
• Applied to your final xG after all other calculations

Captain and Leadership

• Having a captain in your lineup grants a +10% xG bonus
• Choose your captain wisely as they boost your entire team output

Link-Up Play

• Players who frequently play together build link-up chains
• These chains provide additional xG bonuses based on connection strength

Match Shouts

• Player-specific tactical instructions that modify individual contributions
• Some shouts provide direct xG bonuses; others adjust ATT, CRE, or DEF multipliers

Playmaker Bonus

• Designating a playmaker funnels creativity through that player
• Effective when your playmaker has a strong creative output

Midfield Shield

• Opposing midfielders' defensive contributions suppress your chance creation
• A strong opposing midfield can reduce your chances by up to 50%

Set Pieces

• Having a set piece specialist grants an additional +0.35 xG boost
• Specialists are assigned in your lineup setup

Home Advantage

• The home team receives a flat +0.15 xG bonus

Underdog Bonus

• Weaker teams receive a small pot boost (up to +10%) to keep matches competitive

League Strength

• ATT and DEF normalization values are scaled by each team's average real-world league strength
• Prevents double-penalizing players from weaker leagues

Match Fitness (MFit)

• Players missing from real-world squads receive a fitness penalty
• Penalties range from 0-30% reduction in contribution

Match Timeline

1. Lineup deadline - Submit your team before this time
2. First half - Calculated from your pre-match setup
3. Half-time window - Make tactical changes
4. Second half - Updated with any half-time adjustments
5. Full time - Final result revealed