A few notes on the World National Soccer card set for Pitch Invasion Soccer

It is worth noting that, despite our best efforts, the World National Soccer ratings aren’t quite as precise as the previously done league ratings for 2024-2025 card sets.

Back in May, FBref.com removed virtually all of their advanced player statistics overnight. Those statistics had been the backbone of the rating system used for every league release up to that point. Hundreds of statistical inputs fed into the formulas that produced ratings across every aspect of a player's game.

When that data disappeared, so did the foundation of the rating model.

Since then, I've spent many hours searching for replacement data sources that could provide the same depth and consistency. While there are plenty of websites with basic statistics, very few offer the comprehensive advanced metrics that made the league ratings so detailed in the first place.

For the World National Soccer project, I ultimately relied on a different dataset generously shared by Parth Kapur through LinkedIn. I'm extremely grateful that he made those statistics available—they allowed the WNS ratings to move forward when it otherwise may have been delayed indefinitely.

That said, the available data simply isn't as rich as what was previously available through FBref.

Because of that, these ratings should be viewed a little differently than the league ratings.

The league-focused cards were built using an enormous collection of advanced metrics that were refined through extensive testing. Those ratings are something I'm very proud of, and I still believe they represent one of the strongest aspects of Pitch Invasion Soccer.

The World National Soccer cards are built on a more limited statistical foundation. They still use the same philosophy, the same rating framework, and the same commitment to creating realistic player profiles, but the underlying data isn't as comprehensive. That means some players may not be represented with the same level of precision that you've come to expect from the league sets.

One important item is that the handling and distribution ratings for goalies were not able to be generated due to a lack of available statistics. We recommend using 22 as a base default for these or estimating the ratings yourself if you've seen that goalkeeper play.

Moreover, for outfield players, injury, offside, yellow card, and red card ratings were not able to be accurately calculated due to a lack of available data, and a placeholder was put in place in turn.

It's also worth mentioning that player ratings were adjusted for the strength of that nation's domestic league. In addition, goalie ratings were only generated for a subset of goalkeepers. Lastly, ratings were based off of club performance from the past season 80% and national team performance from the past year with a 20% weight.

I'm continuing to search for better data sources, and if I find one that restores the level of detail we previously had, I'll absolutely revisit these ratings and improve them. That's always been the goal: make the game as realistic as possible.

For now, I'm still incredibly excited to bring international football into Pitch Invasion Soccer. Even if these ratings aren't quite at the standard of the league releases, I think they capture the strengths and styles of players well enough to create exciting and believable matches.

We hope you enjoy the set!