Possession percentage counts every pass equally, including the ones exchanged between centre-backs in front of an unpressed opponent. Territory measures attempt to correct for that.
Possession share can be earned in harmless areas
A team can hold a large share of the ball while circulating it in its own half against an opponent content to sit deep.
That possession produces no threat and no defensive obligation, yet it appears identical in the summary to possession held near the opposition penalty area.
The figure therefore describes who had the ball without describing whether having it mattered.
Territory measures restrict the count
Field tilt considers only possession in the final third, expressing each team's share of the play that occurred in dangerous areas.
A team can have a modest overall possession figure and a dominant territorial one, which usually indicates a direct side that advances quickly and sustains pressure when it arrives.
The reverse pattern, high possession and low territory, describes a team being contained rather than one controlling the match.
Neither figure measures chance creation
Territory tells you where the game was played, not what was produced there, and a team can dominate the final third while creating nothing of value.
This is common against a deep and well-organised block, where the attacking team accumulates possession in advanced areas without penetrating the penalty area.
Combining territorial figures with chance quality gives a fuller picture, since the two answer different questions.
Game state distorts both measures
A team leading late in a match will concede possession and territory deliberately, and the resulting figures describe the scoreline rather than the teams.
Analysts therefore look at these numbers with the score held constant, comparing only the periods when neither side was protecting or chasing a result.
Without that adjustment, a comfortable win frequently produces statistics that suggest the winner was outplayed.
What the numbers are useful for
Territorial measures are most informative across a run of matches, where they identify whether a team is genuinely establishing itself in advanced areas or merely holding the ball.
They are also useful for assessing whether a tactical change has worked, since a shift in where possession occurs is easier to detect than a shift in results.
Used that way they are a diagnostic rather than a verdict, which is the appropriate role for almost every summary statistic in the sport.