Match Exposure, Consecutive Match Number, and Recovery Days Affect Match Running During International Women's Soccer Tournaments

How did match running performance change after an extra time match during FIFA 2022 World Cup and 2023 Women`s World Cup?

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore the changing characteristics of running performance before and after extra time matches (ET) at the World Cup under new substitution rules and in special seasonal periods.

METHODS

Match running data of starting players who played ET compared to matches before and after the ET matches from the FIFA 2022 World Cup and the FIFA 2023 Women's World Cup were used for the analysis by using repeated-measures ANOVA.

RESULTS

Most of the relative running distance per minute for the ET match was lower than the pre and post ET match in both men and women World Cups. However, no significant differences (p > 0.05) were found between pre and post ET matches neither in men's nor women's World Cups, except total distance and low speed running distance per minute for men`s football (p < 0.05). Significant interaction effects of gender × match (ET/Post-ET) were found in total distance, walking and jogging distance, low speed running distance and high-speed running distance per min (p < 0.05). In contrast, no significant interaction effects were found in moderate speed running distance, sprint distance, number of high-speed running bouts, number of sprints per min and top speed (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The present findings revealed that players display limited fatigue and can maintain running performance in the match after extra time matches across both genders during World Cups with 4-5 days between matches. Coaches should continue to focus on approaches to reduce fatigue and speeding up athlete recovery after extra time matches in international tournaments.

The Evolution of Physical Performance throughout an Entire Season in Female Football Players

Research on the evolution of performance throughout a season in team sports is scarce and mainly focused on men's teams. Our aim in this study was to examine the seasonal variations in relevant indices of physical performance in female football players. Twenty-seven female football players were assessed at week 2 of the season (preseason, PS), week 7 (end of preseason, EP), week 24 (half-season, HS), and week 38 (end of season, ES). Similar to the most common used conditioning tests in football, testing sessions consisted of (1) vertical countermovement jump (CMJ); (2) 20 m running sprint (T20); (3) 25 m side-step cutting maneuver test (V-CUT); and (4) progressive loading test in the full-squat exercise (V1-LOAD). Participants followed their normal football training procedure, which consisted of three weekly training sessions and an official match, without any type of intervention. No significant time effects were observed for CMJ height (p = 0.29) and T20 (p = 0.11) throughout the season. However, significant time effects were found for V-CUT (p = 0.004) and V1-LOAD (p = 0.001). V-CUT performance significantly improved from HS to ES (p = 0.001). Significant increases were observed for V1-LOAD throughout the season: PS-HS (p = 0.009); PS-ES (p < 0.001); EP-ES (p < 0.001); and HS-ES (p = 0.009). These findings suggest that, over the course of the season, female football players experience an enhancement in muscle strength and change of direction ability. However, no discernible improvements were noted in sprinting and jumping capabilities during the same period.