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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Running performance of high-level soccer player positions induces significant muscle damage and fatigue up to 24 h postgame.

\r\nLucas Albuquerque Freire

  • 1 Department of Fights, Postgraduate Program in Physical Education, School of Physical Education and Sports, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • 2 Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
  • 3 Department of Physical Education and Sport, College of Education, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • 5 Postgraduate Program in Physical Education, School of Physical Education and Sports, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
  • 6 Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago, Chile

This study aimed to determine the impact of a soccer game on the creatine kinase (Ck) response and recovery and the specific Global Positioning System (GPS)-accelerometry-derived performance analysis during matches and comparing playing positions. A sample composed of 118 observations of 24 professional soccer teams of the Brazil League Serie A was recruited and classified according to playing positions, i.e., Left/Right Defenders ( D = 30, age: 25.2 ± 5.8 years, height: 187 ± 5.5 cm, weight: 80 ± 5.8 kg), Offensive Midfielders (OM = 44, age: 25.1 ± 0.2 years, height: 177 ± 0.3 cm, weight: 73 ± 1.2 kg), Forwards ( F = 9, age: 25.1 ± 0.2 years, height: 176.9 ± 4.3 cm, weight: 74.5 ± 2.1 kg), Left/Right Wingers ( M = 23, age: 24.5 ± 0.5 years, height: 175 ± 1.1 cm, weight: 74 ± 4.4 kg), and Strikers ( S = 12, age: 28 ± 0.2 years, height: 184 ± 1.0 cm, weight: 80 ± 1.4 kg). Blood Ck concentration was measured pre-, immediately post-, and 24 h postgame, and the GPS-accelerometry parameters were assessed during games. Findings demonstrated that Ck concentrations were higher at all postgame moments when compared with pregame, with incomplete recovery markers being identified up to 24 h after the game (range: 402–835 U/L). Moreover, Midfielders (108.6 ± 5.6 m/min) and Forwards (109.1 ± 8.3 m/min) had a higher relative distance vs. other positions (100.9 ± 10.1 m/min). Strikers [8.2 (8.1, 9.05) load/min] and Defenders [8.45 (8, 8.8) load/min] demonstrated lower load/min than Wingers [9.5 (9.2, 9.8) load/min], Midfielders [10.6 (9.9, 11.67) load/min], and Forwards [11 (10.65, 11, 15) load/min]. These results could be used to adopt specific training programs and recovery strategies after match according to the playing positions.

Introduction

Studying the determinants of performance outcomes and recoveries of professional soccer players, such as sprints, accelerations, decelerations, changes in direction, jump movement patterns, technical skills, and tactical actions associated with high-intensity efforts translated into metrics, could potentially be useful to inform the construction of specific conditioning drills in an evidence-based fashion ( Ade et al., 2016 ). In quest of best performance, soccer athletes, coaches, and physical trainers have to decide how and when they have to invest their energy ( Akubat et al., 2018 ). The performance analysis of soccer matches has been increasingly utilized during the previous years for this purpose ( Sarmento et al., 2008 ; Enes et al., 2021 ). Due to the difficulties and challenges in conducting physiological measurements during a match, studies interested in the time-motion analysis used running performance [Global Positioning System and Local Positioning System (GPS/LPS)] and factors affecting performance outcomes to infer the metabolic profiles of soccer matches ( Anderson et al., 2019 ; Gantois et al., 2020 ).

The studies of performance analyses showed that soccer match requires many physically demanding performances. The available scholarly literature computed a total and relative distance covered during the game between ∼8,000 and 10,500 m, with a range of ∼100–120 m/min per match ( Reinhardt et al., 2019 ). The low-intensity running performance has not been found determinant in intra-game comparisons, as shown in the published studies ( Di Salvo et al., 2010 ; Modric et al., 2019 ). In contrast, besides scoring the goals, accelerations, decelerations, the number of sprints and distance covered greater than 18 km/h, and other running metrics variables seem to be the key factors to succeed in professional soccer matches ( Mara et al., 2015 ; Abbott et al., 2018 ).

Physical performance during a soccer match is highly variable and depends on many factors, such as match intensity, period of the season, age, and playing positions, among others. Several investigations have studied the physical demands of a soccer match across playing positions. The majority of them categorized positions into defenders, midfielders, and attackers. Felipe et al. (2019) reported that defenders covered greater total distance (10,307.33 ± 1,206.33) when compared with midfielders (7,705.06 ± 3,201.10) and attackers (7,240.61 ± 3,411.31) ( Felipe et al., 2019 ). In contrast, another study showed that defenders had lower total absolute distance and work rates when compared with midfielders in the first half and midfielders and attackers in the second half ( Vescovi and Favero, 2014 ). Regarding moderate- and high-intensity running, contradictory results have been reported in the literature ( Hewitt et al., 2014 ).

More in detail, when specifically categorizing the playing positions, central defenders performed lower total distance covered, high-speed running (HSR), and very-high-speed running (VHSR) compared with full-backs, central midfielders, external midfielders, and forwards. Center-backs reported the lowest values for total distance covered ( Mendez-Villanueva et al., 2012 ) and high-intensity activities ( Andrzejewski et al., 2009 ; Buchheit et al., 2010 ; Brito et al., 2017 ; Varley et al., 2017 ); midfielders and second attackers performed the highest total distance covered; wide midfielders and attackers demonstrated the highest peak game speeds and frequency of high-intensity activities ( Buchheit et al., 2010 ; Al Haddad et al., 2015 ; Izzo and Varde’i, 2017 ).

Furthermore, participation in a soccer match can lead to acute and residual fatigue, characterized by a decline in physical performance over the following hours, which can persist even for days ( Aquino et al., 2016 ). The magnitude of these disturbances increases within the first 24 h after a competition with peaks between 24 and 48 h post-match ( Aquino et al., 2016 ). Together with a decrease in running performance, the potential insurgence of muscle damage and the increased levels of intramuscular enzymes, such as creatine kinase (Ck) and inflammatory/immunological biomarkers, are reported following soccer competition ( Russell et al., 2016 ; Oliveira et al., 2019 ). Some studies have found a significant correlation between running performance outcomes and muscle damage markers (e.g., muscle soreness, Ck) at 24, 48, and 72 h after the soccer matches ( Russell et al., 2016 ; Silva et al., 2018 ). More in detail, Russell et al. (2016) investigated, from a quantitative standpoint, the associations between GPS/LPS-accelerometry findings (i.e., high-intensity distance covered, HSR distance, and the number of sprints carried out) and changes in Ck levels and peak power output during the execution of countermovement jumps 24 and 48 h after the match in a sample of 15 English Premier League Reserve team players. Statistically significant correlations with coefficients ranging from 0.363 to 0.410 were found 24 h but not 48 h post-match. Silva et al. (2018) performed a systematic review and meta-analysis concerning the match-induced fatigue and related recovery profiles of soccer players, taking into account several parameters (i.e., physiological, neuromuscular, biochemical/endocrinological, perceptual, and technical). The authors pooled together 77 studies and computed 1,196 effect sizes (ESs), finding small-to-large variations in the variables under study. These changes could be detected, differently from the previous study ( Russell et al., 2016 ), until 72 h post-match, indicating a persistence of the muscle damage in terms of biochemical, inflammatory, and immunological parameters. These contrasting findings can be reconciled, assuming that some variables (such as those endocrinological/hormonal and technical) can be fully recovered in the short term after the match; for others, the process and dynamics of homeostatic balance are more complex, requiring more than 72 h.

It is well known that the magnitude of muscle damage and the other physiological alterations elicited by matches are associated with oscillations in Ck levels ( Coppalle et al., 2019 ) and related running performance can be assessed with ad hoc performance analytical tools ( Milanović et al., 2020 ; Enes et al., 2021 ; Strauss et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, soccer matches can affect the players differently depending on their playing positions ( Abbott et al., 2018 ). However, the influence of this variable has been relatively overlooked in the available scholarly literature. Furthermore, with the positional difference of physical demand during soccer matches ( Abbott et al., 2018 ), information about the effect of a soccer match on muscle damage postgame was lacking. Consequently, a comprehensive assessment in terms of positional differences of the muscle damage post-match of elite soccer players is necessary to inform applied practitioners working with soccer players to: (1) tailor and personalize interventions based on the specific needs of athletes, rather than relying on a “one-size-fits-it-all” approach; (2) better adopt position-specific recovery strategies; (3) appropriate time between match and session training; and (4) reduce the risk of injuries and achieve optimal performance outcomes. We formulated the working hypotheses that: (1) there is a difference in terms of performance outcomes among players of different playing positions; and (2) game load can impact Ck responses after competition until 24 h after the match. Therefore, this study was devised to fill in this gap in knowledge and aimed to determine the impact of a soccer game on the Ck response, recovery, and specific running performance outcomes, stratifying by playing position.

Materials and Methods

From an initial list of 800 soccer matches performances, this study randomly selected the performances of 118 athletes from professional soccer teams of Rio de Janeiro during the 2018 and 2019 championship seasons. During the games, athletes were classified as Left/Right Defenders ( D = 30, age: 25.2 ± 5.8 years, height: 187 ± 5.5 cm, and weight: 80 ± 5.8 kg), Offensive Midfielders (OM = 44, age: 25.1 ± 0.2 years, height: 177 ± 0.3 cm, and weight: 73 ± 1.2 kg), Forwards ( F = 9, age: 25.1 ± 0.2 years, height: 176.9 ± 4.3 cm, and weight: 74.5 ± 2.1 kg), Left/Right Wingers ( W = 23, age: 24.5 ± 0.5 years, height: 175 ± 1.1 cm, and weight: 74 ± 4.4 kg), and Strikers ( S = 12, age: 28 ± 0.2 years, height: 184 ± 1.0 cm, and weight: 80 ± 1.4 kg). We considered the level and locations of opponents: 39 international games of Copa Libertadores da América , 58 national games of Brasileirão Série A , and 26 state games of Campeonato Carioca de Futebol , with 28 teams in different rounds or championship phases, with competitions occurring once per week. The performance-analysis-related data were collected at single time points while the Ck level was studied before, after, and 24 h after the game. Therefore, a total of 354 samples of Ck concentration of all professional soccer players were analyzed in three moments as follows: first, before the game (Ck n = 118); second, after the game (Ck n = 118); and third, after 24 h of the game (Ck n = 118). The sample size was enough to compute estimates with 95% CI and 5% of margin of error.

Each athlete had a minimum of 6 days of rest from the previous match to prevent stress interference, competed in national and international representative championships once (∼90 min) per week, and had been regularly training 2 h of technical and tactical aspects 4–7 times a week and 1 h of physical preparation 2–3 times a week. Therefore, all participants were from the Brazil league and had previous experience with professional soccer events, rules, and procedures used during the event.

The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) being from the Brazilian league; (2) having played during ∼85% of the game; (3) having a minimum of 6 days of rest from their previous match to prevent stress interference; (4) having competed in national and international representative championships once (∼90 min) per week; and (5) 2 h of regular training of technical and tactical aspects 4–7 times a week and 1 h of physical preparation 2–3 times a week. We excluded participants who played games for more than 90 min, substituted players, and goalkeepers.

This study was approved by the Local Committee of Ethics in Research (No. 13846919.8.0000.5257), following the rules of resolution of the National Health Council and in accordance with the WMA Declaration of Helsinki. Then, the volunteers (age: >18 years) were contacted by the researchers in such a way to be informed about the aims and procedures of the study and signed an informed consent form to participate in the data collection. Measurements were performed before, after, and 24 h after the game. No modifications were made in the training, nutritional, or hydration status of participants, and they maintained a passive recovery time pattern of 24 h without training efforts between the game, postgame, and 24 h postgame.

Physical Performance Demands

The subjects wore a GPS unit (Catapult Innovations, Scoresby, Australia) during each trial ( Jennings et al., 2010b ). The performance analyses of the professional soccer players were monitored using a portable 5-Hz GPS unit (Catapult, Melbourne, Australia) during games. The GPS unit was positioned via an elasticized shoulder harness to sit between the scapulae of the player at the base of the cervical spine ( Petersen et al., 2009a ). The GPS unit was activated and a GPS satellite lock was established for at least 15 min before the player taking the field, as per the recommendations of the manufacturer ( Petersen et al., 2009b ). The recorded information was downloaded after each session using Catapult Sprint software (Catapult Innovations, Melbourne, Australia) for analysis. Once downloaded, the competition data were edited and split into two 45-min halves ( Abbott et al., 2018 ).

Only subjects completing the entire match were included in the analysis process. The mean number of satellites and the horizontal dilution of position were recorded during the data collection ( Abbott et al., 2018 ). The performance analysis followed a preceding protocol ( Abbott et al., 2018 ). The total distance (m), i.e., distance traveled during all the game; total distance by minute; percentage of distance traveled, low-intensity running and jogging (<14 km/h), running (>14 km/h), and sprinting (>18 km/h), distance and number of sprints (>18 and >24 km/h), maximum speed (km/h), number of accelerations (>9 km/h), and deceleration (<9 km/h), jumps (>30 cm), and efforts (i.e., accelerations, deceleration, and jumps) were the performance analysis factors assessed during professional soccer games with ∼90 min of durations ( Abbott et al., 2018 ).

Blood Ck concentration was measured pre-, post-, and 24 h postgame by reflectance photometry at 37°C using the Reflotron Analyzer Plus (Reflotron Plus, Roche, Germany), previously calibrated. To reduce errors, only one evaluator was responsible for these collected data. A lancet device with an automatic trigger was used for puncturing the finger after finger asepsis using 70% ethyl alcohol, and the blood was drained into a strip for specific examination (using heparinized capillary strips). A blood sample (32 μl) was immediately pipetted into a Ck test strip, which was introduced into the instrument. The absolute values of Ck (U/L) were used for analysis, according to the study of Aquino et al. (2016) .

Statistical Analysis

The descriptive data are presented as mean and SD, using the coefficient of variance (CV, %) as the measure of variability. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (K-S) was used to determine the normal distribution of the data, considering p ≤ 0.05. A repeated measure ANOVA was performed to verify the Ck modifications, and a generalized estimating equation (GEE) mixed-linear model accounting for individual (random) effect was conducted, considering the level and location of the opponent (International competitions in South America × National competitions in Brazil × State competitions in Rio de Janeiro) as a control variable. The ES was calculated using eta-squared and interpreted as follows: small (0.01 < ES < 0.06), medium (0.06 < ES < 0.14), or large (ES > 0.14). The significance level of p ≤ 0.05 was used. All analyses were conducted using SPSS for Windows software (version 20.0; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, United States).

Table 1 shows the descriptive analysis of distance and load during the game, with the total/minute ratio separated by the position of the player.

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Table 1. Descriptive analysis of behavior and performance factors, considering each player’s position.

Total distance had differences ( F = 14.42, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.63, i.e., large ES); the S and D groups had a shorter total length than all groups, and F had a shorter total length than M and W groups ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons).

Statistically significant effects were observed between the positions of players in the distance/min ( F = 15.06, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.64, i.e., large ES), where M and F had higher values than all other groups ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons).

The total load also showed differences ( F = 22.39, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.73, i.e., large ES); the S and D groups had a lower total load than all the other groups, and F had a lower total load than M ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons).

The comparisons also demonstrated effects in load/min ( F = 19.59, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.70, i.e., large ES). The S and D groups had a lower load ratio than all the other groups ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons).

Figure 1 shows the sprint frequencies per soccer match.

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Figure 1. Sprint frequencies by player position. $ Significant differences from all other groups; # significant differences from Defenders; ψ significant differences from Forwards; β significant differences from Wingers, p < 0.05 for all comparisons.

Effects were also observed in sprint frequencies above 14 km/h ( F = 10.28, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.55, i.e., large ES), where S and D had lower frequencies than all other groups ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons), and S had higher frequencies than D ( p = 0.015).

Moreover, the analysis presented differences in sprint frequencies above 18 km/h between the positions of players ( F = 17.65, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.64, i.e., large ES), where S and D had lower frequencies than all other groups ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons), and S had higher frequencies than D ( p = 0.015).

Effects were also observed in sprint frequencies above 24 km/h ( F = 7.72, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.48, i.e., large ES), where D had lower frequencies than all groups, while M had lower frequencies than S and W ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons).

Furthermore, the analysis verified differences in maximal velocity comparisons ( F = 2.41, p = 0.007, ES = 0.23, i.e., large ES), D had lower speed than W ( p ≤ 0.001).

The comparison also showed differences in the deceleration of sprints ( F = 7.28, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.46, i.e., large ES), where D had a lower frequency than all other groups ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons).

Additionally, the analysis observed effects in the acceleration of sprints between the positions of players ( F = 3.79, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.31, i.e., large ES), where D had a lower frequency than S ( p = 0.005), W ( p ≤ 0.001), M ( p = 0.009), and F ( p = 0.003), and M had a lower frequency of acceleration than W ( p = 0.012).

Besides, effects were observed in jump frequencies when comparing the positions of players ( F = 2.46, p = 0.006, ES = 0.23, i.e., large ES), where S and M had lower frequency than D ( p = 0.003 and p = 0.004, respectively).

Finally, the comparisons indicated differences in explosive effort frequencies ( F = 36.43, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.56, i.e., large ES); D had a lower frequency than other groups ( p ≤ 0.001 for all), while M had lower values than F ( p = 0.032).

Figure 2 shows Ck values. Significant differences were observed between time points when comparing Ck ( X 2 = 114.67, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.59, i.e., large ES). The Ck baseline (255 U/L) time point had lower values than postgame (718.5 U/L, p ≤ 0.001) and 24 h postgame (560.0 U/L, p ≤ 0.001). Postgame presented higher Ck values than the other time points ( p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons). The positions of players demonstrated differences when comparing Ck baselines ( X 2 = 30.56, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.37, i.e., large ES), where D (158.0 U/L) had lower values than W (341.0 U/L, p = 0.003) and M (255.0 U/L, p ≤ 0.001). Significant differences were observed in Ck postgame ( X 2 = 19.89, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.218, i.e., large ES) and in Ck 24 h postgame ( X 2 = 20.55, p ≤ 0.001, ES = 0.223, i.e., large ES), where D (522.5 and 325.0 U/L) had lower values than M (718.5 and 560.0 U/L, p ≤ 0.001 for all comparisons) in both Ck postgame and 24 h postgame, respectively.

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Figure 2. Ck (U/L –1 ) baseline, post and 24 h post game, by player’s position. *Significant differences from all other moments; # significant differences from Defenders; p < 0.05 for all comparisons.

This study aimed to determine the impact of a soccer game on the Ck response, recovery, and specific running performance outcomes during professional soccer games by comparing playing positions. The main results demonstrated that Ck concentrations were higher at all postgame time points when compared with pregame, with the highest concentrations being observed after the game. Incomplete recovery markers were also identified up to 24 h after the game, especially for midfielders. Significant effects were observed between the positions of players when comparing performance indicators, in which offensive midfielders had higher total and relative distances covered and higher loads during high-level soccer games. The strikers had a lower percentage of submaximum, maximum, and up to maximum limit efforts during the game than other groups. At the same time, middle athletes demonstrated a higher frequency of sprints above 24 km/h, the number of jumps (<30 cm), and the total frequency of explosive efforts. The interactions between the positions and the level and location of opponents were observed for the total distance, relative distance, total load, sprint frequencies above 18 km/h, and decelerations, with higher values in international competitions in South America than at the state level in Rio de Janei ro.

This study showed that midfielders and forwards covered higher distances than other playing positions. This finding is in line with previous studies, which reported a greater distance covered by midfielders, followed by forwards and defenders during a soccer match play ( Mohr et al., 2003 ; Di Salvo et al., 2010 ; Djaoui et al., 2013 ; Vescovi and Favero, 2014 ). The same data were reported in some investigations assessing the French First League, the Spanish La Liga, and the English FA Premier League ( Dellal et al., 2010 , 2011 ). For example, Dellal et al. (2010 , 2011) investigated the physical activities of elite soccer players across six playing positions. The authors showed that the covered total distances were greater in midfielders (i.e., central defensive midfielders, wide midfielders, and central attacking midfielders) than forwards, central defenders, and full-backs. Furthermore, when analyzing running performance during German Bundesliga over three seasons (i.e., 2014/2015, 2015/2016, and 2016/2017) according to five positional roles, Chmura et al. (2018) reported that forwards covered the longer distance in won matches than in drawn and lost matches, while wide midfielders similarly ran a significantly longer distance in drawn and won matches than in lost matches. This finding is also confirmed by Andrzejewski et al. (2019) in their study of 1,178 soccer players taking part in the Polish Premier League matches during the four seasons (from 2010 to 2014). Other data that may support this finding reported that elite midfielders have the biggest intermittent endurance capacity and the maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO 2 max ) than forwards and defenders ( Slimani and Nikolaidis, 2019 ). This could be explained by the fact that midfielders played in an important position that linked defenders and attackers, which requires them to perform a repetitive moving back and forth between the attack and defense. Practitioners would adopt appropriate specific training plans that adequately elicit heightened cardiovascular demands in midfielders compared with other playing positions.

This study reported that midfielders had a higher sprint frequency and absolute distance sprinting than defenders and attackers. Accordingly, Di Salvo et al. (2010) analyzed 67 European matches (European Champions League and UEFA Cup) over four seasons and compared running performance among five playing positions. The authors found that wide midfielders performed a higher total number of sprints and total sprint distance than other playing positions. In contrast, other studies have shown that wide defenders and attackers covered a significantly greater distance and sprint time than midfielders ( Mohr et al., 2003 ; Rampinini et al., 2008 ). Other studies by Dellal et al. (2010 , 2011) reported that forwards sprinted the greatest distance than other playing positions during the French First League, the Spanish LaLiga, and the English FA Premier League soccer matches. These contradictions may be explained by the fact that each team has a specific playing formation, opposition level, tactics, and physical fitness of players ( Al’Hazzaa et al., 2001 ; Aquino et al., 2017 ; Sarmento et al., 2018 ; Slimani et al., 2019 ; Arjol-Serrano et al., 2021 ). Therefore, it seems that practitioners would adopt position-specific training programs for their players.

Regarding the acceleration and deceleration according to playing positions, our study found that left/right defenders had lower acceleration and deceleration frequencies than the left/right midfielders, wingers, and strikers. These data confirm the data collected by previous authors ( Vigne et al., 2010 ), who analyzed the activity profiles of players of a top-class team in the Italian National Football League over the course of a season and reported that central defenders perform lower accelerations and decelerations than other playing positions. Another study ( Oliva-Lozano et al., 2020 ) conducted a longitudinal study over 13 competitive microcycles recruiting professional footballers from LaLiga and detecting positional differences in terms of sprint, acceleration, and deceleration profiles. More specifically, greater start speeds than high-intensity accelerations were found in wide midfielders while no statistically significant differences could be reported in central defenders, full-backs, and midfielders. The high-intensity decelerations were performed by midfielders, forwards, full-backs, wide midfielders, and central defenders. Therefore, it seems that practitioners would adopt position-specific training programs that elicit higher acceleration/deceleration in outfielders.

Muscle damage markers, notably Ck, were higher in midfielders compared with defenders immediately and 24 h after the soccer match. Similar results have been reported in the existing scholarly literature with higher Ck immediately after the soccer match in midfielders than other playing positions ( Souglis et al., 2018 ). These data could be explained by the fact that midfielders performed higher acceleration, deceleration, and explosive action than defenders. In contrast, another study ( Scott et al., 2016 ) failed to stratify the Ck levels according to playing positions from 15 elite male soccer players competing in the English Premier League, 48 h following a competitive match. However, based on our findings, practitioners would adopt a position-specific recovery program after the soccer match to return to play as fast as possible.

Limitations and Strengths

Few studies have investigated Ck profiles in national team players ( Hecksteden and Meyer, 2020 ; Schuth et al., 2021 ), generally adults ( Hecksteden and Meyer, 2020 ) and more rarely adolescents ( Schuth et al., 2021 ). The present investigation significantly adds to this literature.

However, despite this strength, the sample size is the main limitation of the study since the Strikers and Forwards groups are composed only of three and two individuals. Therefore, individual differences that may modify the outcome distributions of these groups more than the actual differences between groups could influence the ESs reported.

This study presents a further limitation that GPS/LPS substantially underestimated ∼4% of the criterion distance when striding and sprinting over short distances (10 m) at both 1 and 5 Hz ( Jennings et al., 2010a , b ). In contrast, we were able to control the interactions between the positions and the level and location of opponents. The interactions between the level and location of opponents and the positions were observed in total distance, load, and minutes of the game: in this study, international games presented more, i.e., ∼10% of total load and ∼900 m of total distance than the level of state games. This information could improve the periodization of players associated with international championships. However, despite this, these variables were not the determinant for Ck concentrations. Other limitations include the use of Ck as the only biomarker of muscle damage, while a wider array of biological parameters could have been explored. Further high-quality studies are needed to overcome these limitations.

Significant effects were observed in terms of the positions of the player when comparing performance indicators, as offensive midfielders had a higher total and relative distance and load during the high-level soccer games. The strikers had a lower percentage of submaximum, maximum, and up to maximum limit efforts during the game than other groups, while defenders demonstrated a higher frequency of sprints above 24 km/h. The forwards showed a higher number of jumps (<30 cm) and a total frequency of explosive efforts. Muscle damage (as assessed by means of Ck levels) did not differ in terms of playing position, suggesting a relevant muscle involvement for every player regardless of his position, up to 24 h after the match. More specifically, according to these findings, no training game format alone is able to develop the overall soccer fitness, with each format eliciting a unique physical load. These results make it possible to create a specific training game according to playing positions, associated with the predominant activities performed during competition. Consequently, practitioners would adopt a position-specific recovery program after the soccer match, particularly for midfielders who are exposed to higher muscle damage after the soccer match play.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by 13846919.8.000.5257/Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho-UFRJ. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

LF, NE, and DG conceived the study, planned, carried out, and wrote the manuscript. MT, MS, HZ, NB, and BM performed the statistical analysis and reviewed the manuscript. MB realized the manuscript review and formatting. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all athletes, coaches, and federations for allowing and contributing to the accomplishment of this study and also would like to thank the Taif University Researchers for Supporting Project (No. TURSP-2020/170), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.

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Keywords : muscle damage, fatigue, muscle strength, sports, task performance and analysis, external loads

Citation: Freire LA, Brito MA, Esteves NS, Tannure M, Slimani M, Znazen H, Bragazzi NL, Brito CJ, Soto DAS, Gonçalves D and Miarka B (2021) Running Performance of High-Level Soccer Player Positions Induces Significant Muscle Damage and Fatigue Up to 24 h Postgame. Front. Psychol. 12:708725. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708725

Received: 12 May 2021; Accepted: 09 August 2021; Published: 14 September 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Freire, Brito, Esteves, Tannure, Slimani, Znazen, Bragazzi, Brito, Soto, Gonçalves and Miarka. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Michele Andrade de Brito, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Studying professional and recreational female footballers: A bibliometric exercise

Affiliations.

  • 1 James R. Urbaniak, Sports Sciences Institute, Duke Health, Durham, NC, USA.
  • 2 Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, SDU Sport and Health Sciences Cluster (SHSC), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
  • 3 Danish Institute for Advanced Study (DIAS), University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
  • 4 Sport and Health Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
  • PMID: 34363241
  • DOI: 10.1111/sms.14019

Objectives: Research directed at soccer has seen dramatic growth in the last decade. While published research on soccer has shown exponential growth, the proportion of articles addressing females is lagging behind research addressing males. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the literature on soccer, female soccer, and professional female soccer has changed over time.

Methods: The Web of Science (WoS) was queried for all "articles" about soccer and association football from 1970 to 2019. This set of records was then queried to collect subsets of papers about females, professional/elite, and female professional/elite. Each of these data subsets was then queried for a number of characteristics and topics. The results were submitted to bibliometric analysis.

Results: WoS returned 16,822 "articles" about soccer from 1970 to 2019, 3242 of which addressed females. A total of 5924 "articles" about professional players was found, of which 919 had a female focus. Articles about anterior cruciate ligament injuries and concussion were the topics with the highest proportion of papers involving females. Articles directed at selective areas of training and performance were relatively infrequent. Prominent journals, authors, affiliations, and influential papers are presented.

Conclusions: A bibliometric analysis of the published research presents a high-level overview of trends in soccer research. Overall, studies about women accounted for around 20% of all soccer research and about 15% of studies on professional players. There were a number of topics where studies on females account for less than 10%-15% of the research on all professionals, and opens opportunities for future study.

Keywords: VOSviewer; association football; bibliometrics; females; professional players; soccer.

© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Training in women soccer players: A systematic review on training load monitoring

Júlio a. costa.

1 Portugal Football School, Portuguese Football Federation, Oeiras, Portugal

Vincenzo Rago

2 Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports, Universidade Europeia, Lisbon, Portugal

Pedro Brito

3 Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, University of Maia, Maia, Portugal

Pedro Figueiredo

4 Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, Vila Real, Portugal

5 Centro de Investigação em Desporto, Educação Física, Exercício e Saúde, Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon, Portugal

Eduardo Abade

João brito, associated data.

The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article/ Supplementary material , further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

The present systematic review aimed to provide an overview of training load (TL), along with their responses, monitoring during training sessions in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players.

Data source

Electronic databases searches (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Ebsco) for relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals were conducted, and eligibility criteria were based on the PICOS model in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.

Study selection

Studies were considered as follows: (a) highly trained and elite adult (>18 years) women’s soccer players; (b) continuous (minimum 1-week duration) TL monitoring in the context of the team routine; (c) TL collected from entire training session. Methodological qualitative assessments and risk of bias criteria were used for judging the studies.

Data extraction

A total of 1,163 studies were identified, and 16 were included. The selected studies were fully screened to extract the population characteristics; the number of players; a type of study design; region where the study was performed; the main findings.

Data synthesis

Accumulated external TL (ETL) during the pre-season was positively correlated to enhanced adaptations in intermittent exercise capacity. Daily ETL was negatively correlated to next-day self-reported fatigue and muscle soreness. Daily internal TL (ITL) was negatively correlated to post-session sleep duration and sleep efficiency. One study showed that higher accumulated player load and total distance were associated with injury.

Information about TL during training sessions in women soccer players is very sparse, and it is currently very difficult to consider evidence-based practices for training sessions in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players. Moreover, the dose–response relationships between TL and training outcome (e.g., fatigue, training adaptations and injuries) need to be further explored to understand the optimal training stimulus to enhance performance outcomes while preserving player health.

Introduction

The popularity of women’s soccer has markedly increased over the last 10 years ( Randell et al., 2021 ). Alongside, the professionalism has also increased, and current elite players might be exposed to higher training and competitive demands than before, possibly having implications for both performance and health ( Datson et al., 2014 ). However, a recent bibliometric analysis noted that studies investigating elite women soccer players account for just around 15% of all soccer research published ( Kirkendall and Krustrup, 2021 ), while several match- and training-related topics specifically dedicated to women’s soccer are still in need of greater attention.

In women’s soccer, as well as the male equivalent, it is incumbent that coaches and support staff optimize the health, well-being, and performance of the players. But in contrast to men’s soccer, and largely due to the increased female participation, science has struggled to keep pace with the demand for evidence-based studies to inform practice ( Okholm Kryger et al., 2021 ). In a recent narrative review ( Randell et al., 2021 ), it has been reported that the most popular publication topics related to women’s soccer are sports medicine, physiological, health and performance outcomes.

Within this context, a better understanding of the training process in elite women soccer players is vital to define appropriate strategies that may contribute to enhance performance, accelerate recovery, and reduce injury risk. Collectively, training responses, fatigue and injury risk can be described as training outcomes. However, the interplay between training load (TL), fatigue and injury risk is still unclear ( Jaspers et al., 2017 ). Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, this information is yet to be reviewed in women soccer players.

Recent systematic reviews conducted in men’s and women’s soccer describing published TL practices (including data collection and interpretation) revealed that information about women’s soccer is very sparse ( Rago et al., 2019a , b ; Torres-Ronda et al., 2022 ). These reviews considered methods to collect and interpret TL, such as wearable technology incorporating global positioning systems (GPS) to quantify the external TL (ETL; Rago et al., 2019a ; Torres-Ronda et al., 2022 ), the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and the session-RPE (s-RPE: perceived intensity multiplied by the exposure time) to subjectively quantify internal TL (ITL; Rago et al., 2019b ; Torres-Ronda et al., 2022 ). Quantified ITL methods (such as heart rate, HR) have also been included.

Therefore, considering the scarce literature and the aforementioned potential advantages associated with a better understanding of training, the present systematic review aimed to provide an overview of ETL and ITL monitoring during training sessions in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players, with a special focus on fatigue, training adaptions and injuries.

This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines ( Page et al., 2021 ). The protocol was registered at the International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (INPLASY 2021120038).

Eligibility criteria

For the current systematic review, eligibility criteria were based on the PICOS model in accordance to the PRISMA statement ( Shamseer et al., 2015 ) and other systematic reviews published regarding team routines in soccer ( Rago et al., 2019a , b ; Torres-Ronda et al., 2022 ); Study design: observational; Participants and setting : highly trained and elite adult (>18 years) women’s soccer players ( Mckay et al., 2022 ) (i.e., players competing at the international leagues/tournaments; players competing in national and/or state leagues/tournaments; individuals on a national team); Interventions : continuous TL monitoring during training sessions in the context of the team routine; Outcomes : TL collected from entire training session; Timing : minimum 1-week duration of training.

Literature search strategy

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO combining the following groups of key words in the title, abstract or key words: (women OR female) AND (football OR soccer) AND (elite OR professional OR top-level OR highly trained) AND (load OR intens* OR volume OR training OR monitor* OR quantif* OR speed OR acceleration OR heart rate OR subjective OR rat* OR perce* effort OR exertion) AND (GPS OR “global positioning system” OR LPS OR “local positioning system” OR “time motion” OR physiolog*) AND (fatigue OR adaptations OR performance OR testing OR injury) AND NOT (“American Football” OR “Australian Football” OR AFL). The search was restricted to English peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to April 2022. Then, we further searched the relevant literature using the ‘related citations’ function of PubMed and by scanning reference lists of each article.

All records were exported to EndNote (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, PA, United States) and duplicates were removed by using an automated tool and checked manually. Two authors (JC and PB), independently performed the searches and reviewed the studies. In case of disagreement, inclusion was discussed, and unresolved discrepancies were settled by a third reviewer (JB).

The articles were considered if published on-line regardless of the publication status. To investigate continuous TL monitoring during training sessions, we included articles with a minimum of 1-week duration, respective of sex and study focus (e.g., studies reporting descriptive data of TL without studying its effects were included). Articles were excluded if: the participants (a) were not all highly trained and elite adult women soccer players (e.g., mixed samples including highly trained/elite adult elite and non-highly trained and non-elite players); (b) were aged under 18; (c) were not monitored longitudinally over a minimum of a 1-week duration, or five sessions if the duration was not stated (friendly matches were considered training sessions), to consider continuous monitoring practices ( Rago et al., 2019a , b ); (d) the articles did not report any TL indicators as described by Halson (2014) ; single drills were monitored rather than the entire training session, or the article focused on the comparison between a specific drill and match demands; (e) data from training sessions were not reported; and (f) the articles were editorials or reviews. In the event of ambiguity in the title or abstract, the full-text article was checked for verification by two independently authors (JC and PB). The full-text articles of the remaining studies were then downloaded and archived. The references of the selected articles were then screened to identify any potentially relevant articles not identified by the original search. Afterward, the corresponding authors of the selected articles were contacted (via e-mail or social media) requesting missing information. When contacted, the authors were informed about the purpose of the study and no conflict of interest was declared. Information provided by the authors was labeled within the tables.

Data extraction and management

All data on study characteristics and outcomes were extracted from all included studies by one author (PB) and subsequently reviewed by other author (JC).

The selected studies were fully screened to extract the population characteristics (i.e., age and competitive level); number of player’s and training sessions; type of study design; region where the study was performed; training period and duration; the monitoring TL method used; and the synthesis of main findings. If reported, TL data and the correlations between TL and training outcomes (fatigue, training adaptations, and injury risk) were also extracted. Only data exclusively related to training sessions have been extracted (i.e., match data have been excluded).

Quality assessment of included studies

Two independent authors (JC and EA) assessed the quality of the included studies. The quality score of each study was based on a 16-item checklist adapted from a previous systematic review in soccer ( Sarmento et al., 2018 ). Publications were evaluated based on: (1) clarity of purpose; (2) relevance of background literature; (3) appropriateness of the study design; (4) study sample; (5) sample size justification; (6) informed consent (if any); (7) outcome measures – reliability; (8) outcome measures – validity; (9) detailed method description; (10) significance of results reporting; (11) analysis methods; (12) practical importance; (13) description of drop-outs (if any); (14) appropriately conclusions; (15) practical implications; (16) study limitations. A binary scale was used to score these items (1 = yes; 0 = no), except for items (6) and (13), which could also be classified as not applicable (n/a). After that, a percentage score was calculated for each study by summing the scores of all items and dividing that by the maximum score the study could achieve. The publications’ quality score was classified as: (1) low methodological quality for scores ≤ 50%; (2) good methodological quality for scores between 51% and 75%; and (3) excellent methodological quality for scores >75% ( Supplementary Table 1 ).

Risk of bias

Two independent authors (VR and PB) underwent a calibration exercise, and then assessed the risk of bias of TL monitoring studies in women’s soccer (observational designs) using the Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-randomized Studies (RoBANS) tool ( Kim et al., 2013 ; Supplementary Table 2 ). Conflicts were resolved through discussion among the pair of reviewers or through consultation with a third reviewer (JB).

Study selection and study characteristics

Initially, 1163 records were identified. After removing duplicates, screening the titles and full texts, 16 original articles met the inclusion criteria ( Figure 1 ).

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is fpsyg-13-943857-g001.jpg

Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) diagram of the literature search results.

The selected articles were published from January 2000 to April 2022. Thirteen studies were conducted across various national leagues at the club level ( Mara et al., 2015a , b ; ( Costa et al., 2018a , b , 2019b , 2019c , 2021a , b ; Clemente et al., 2019 ; Douchet et al., 2021 ; Fernandes et al., 2021 ; Romero-Moraleda et al., 2021 ; Xiao et al., 2021 ), while three studies were conducted in a National team setting ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ; Costa et al., 2019a ; Doyle et al., 2021 ). The selected studies were predominantly conducted during periods lasting 1 to 25 weeks ( Mara et al., 2015a , b ; Costa et al., 2018a , 2019b , 2019c , 2021a , 2021b ; Clemente et al., 2019 ; Douchet et al., 2021 ; Fernandes et al., 2021 ; Romero-Moraleda et al., 2021 ; Xiao et al., 2021 ) or during international tournaments lasting 10 to 21 days ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ; Costa et al., 2019a ; Doyle et al., 2021 ). Only one study considered more than one entire season (i.e., three seasons), lasting 15 months (i.e., 5 months each season) ( Xiao et al., 2021 ). A detailed description of the selected studies is reported in Table 1 .

Studies quantifying training load in highly trained and elite adult women’s soccer players over a minimum of 1 week ( n = 16), and respective quality score.

ReferencePopulation characteristics (age and level)Number of
players/Sessions
/Region
Type of study designPeriod/DurationMonitoring
training load method
Synthesis of main findingsQuality score (%)
23.6 ± 4.8/National league89/6–7 training sessions + non-official match/Germany and PortugalProspective
cohort study
Pre-season/5 weeksGPSSmall-to-moderate intra-week load variance and no significant changes in weekly load variances based on total distance and sprinting distance. Significant differences were found between training days considering the duration ( = 0.011), walking distance ( = 0.017), running distance ( = 0.004), player’s load ( = 0.040) and number of sprints ( = 0.006).93.3%
21.4 ± 2.1/National league18/8/PortugalSingle-group longitudinalCompetitive/3 weeksHR, s-RPETRIMP, HR and s-RPE varied throughout the week.93.3%
21.5 ± 0.9/National league11/3/PortugalSingle-group observationalCompetitive/1 weekHR, s-RPEDescriptive values only.86.7%
25.2 ± 3.1/National Team20/6/PortugalSingle-group observationalCompetitive/9 daysGPS, s-RPEDespite the significant day-to-day variations in TD, HSR and s-RPE, these variables were not correlated to post-session total sleep time, sleep efficiency and lnRMSSD.93.3%
21.6 ± 2.3/National league17/18/PortugalSingle-group longitudinalCompetitive/6 weeksHR, s-RPETRIMP, HR and s-RPE were lower on night training days, and higher during away matches.93.3%
21.4 ± 2.1/National league17/18/PortugalSingle-group observationalCompetitive/6 weeksHR, s-RPEs-RPE was largely correlated with TRIMP ( = 0.74–0.82).93.3%
21.8 ± 2.6/National league16/Nr/PortugalSingle-group longitudinalPre-season/4 weekss-RPEPlayers improved aerobic fitness, along with increased 24-h cardiac vagal activity. The relative changes in HF24h and HF index were largely correlated with improvements in the distance covered during the Yo-Yo IR1 ( = 0.68 and = 0.56; respectively).100%
20.6 ± 2.3/National league34/8/PortugalSingle-group longitudinalCompetitive/14 daysHR, s-RPEs-RPE and TRIMP were slightly to moderately correlated with sleep duration and sleep efficiency ( = −0.43 to −0.17) but not with HR variability parameters (lnRMSSD, lnLF, lnHF).93.3%
24.2 ± 2.3/National league12/6/FranceSingle-group observationalCompetitive/2 weeksGPS, HR, s-RPETotal number of accelerations and decelerations were greater during the heavy week than during the low week ( < 0.001). The mean HR%, total distance, m⋅min , RPE, sRPE and the Hooper Index were significantly greater during the heavy week. There were significant differences ( < 0.001) between the start and the end of the heavy week for Sleep, Fatigue, and DOMS.93.3%
24.2 ± 4.4/National Team18/6/IrelandSingle-group observationalCompetitive/1 weekGPS, s-RPETraining load peaked on MD-5 as all variables significantly increased in comparison to MD-6 and MD-7. A significant decrease in volume and intensity was evident on MD-3 due to reductions on TL ( = 0.001, = 0.60), TD ( = 0.001, = 0.60), VHSR ( = 0.001, = 0.61) and SPD ( = 0.00, = 0.62). Significant difference in VHSD, SPD and SP between position on MD-2.93.3%
Nr/National league17/90/AustraliaSingle-group longitudinalPre-season and competitive/18 weeksGPSPlayers covered greater TD and HSD during pre-season compared to early season, and then decreased in late season. TL was not correlated with fatigue, muscle soreness, sleep time, and changes in sprint performance. TD, HSR and accelerations were correlated to changes in Yo-Yo IR2 performance from pre-season to early season ( = 0.55–0.70).86.7%
26.5 ± 5.7/National league18/20/SpainSingle-group longitudinalCompetitive/5 monthsGPS, s-RPEThe EL and the IL from official matches were higher compared to training sessions ( < 0.05; effect size [ES]:0.6–5.4). The training sessions MD + 1 and MD-2 showed the lowest EL and IL values. During MD, significant differences in EL and IL were noted between playing positions, although not during training sessions.92.9%
21.9–39.5/National
Team
22/16/AustraliaSingle-group longitudinalCompetitive/21 daysGPS, HR, RPEIrrespective of the quantification method adopted for HSD and very HSD (fixed or individualized speed zones), negative small correlations were observed with fatigue and soreness ( = −0.25 to −0.14).92.9%
Nr/National league65/Nr/United StatesProspective cohort
study
Competitive/3 seasonsGPSThere were no significant differences in player load, total distance, or high-speed distance ACWR between injured and non-injured players, regardless of the type of ACWR calculation (EWMA and Simple moving average). The prior 2-week, 3-week, and 4-week accumulated player loads were significantly higher for injured players. Similarly, the prior 2-week, 3-week, and 4-week accumulated total distances were significantly higher for injured players.100%
24.1 ± 2.7/National league19/30/PortugalSingle-group longitudinalCompetitive/10 weeksRPEAssociations were found between Hooper Index categories and s-RPE like stress or fatigue (0.693, < 0.01), stress or DOMS (0.593, < 0.01), stress or s-RPE (0.516, < 0.05) and fatigue or DOMS (0.688, < 0.01). No differences were found in playing position or status when considering in-season IL and perceived well-being variation.93.3%
23–30/National league8/5/AustraliaSingle-group observationalPre-season/1 weekGPSNo differences between match and training days ( = 1.00) in mean total energy expenditure, however, significant differences were found between individual training sessions ( = 0.001–0.035). Significant differences with large effect sizes between friendly match and training sessions were found for total distance and HSD, but not sprinting distance, acceleration count or deceleration count.93.3%

HR, heart rate; HSD, high-speed distance; lnRMSSD, natural logarithm of square root of the mean of the sum of the squares of differences between adjacent NN intervals; lnLF, natural logarithm of low-frequency; lnHF, natural logarithm of high-frequency; s-RPE, session-rating of perceived exertion; Yo-Yo IR1, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery – Level 1; Yo-Yo IR2, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery – Level 2; TD, total distance; TL, training load; TRIMP, training impulse; DOMS, delayed onset muscle soreness; SWA, SenseWear Mini Armbands; EL, external load; IL, internal load; MD, match-day; ACWR, acute-to-chronic workload rations; EWMA, exponentially weighted moving averages; Nr, not reported.

Quality assessment of the studies

The mean methodological quality score for the 16 selected articles was 93.3%, with two articles achieving the maximum score of 100% ( Table 1 ). Among the nine selected studies, the quality score ranged between 86.7 and 100%. All articles achieved an overall rating score of >75% (excellent methodological quality). Potential limitations found were mainly related to the lack of explicit justification for the sample size (criterion 5) and the absence of clear acknowledgment of study limitations (criterion 16).

The “selection of the participant,” “exposure measurement,” “blinding outcome assessment” and “incomplete outcome data” were judged as low risk of selection of bias in 100% of the studies ( Figure 2 ). For most of the studies ( n = 14), the “confounding variables” domain was judged as low risk of selection of bias (87.5%), with two studies being judged as unclear, due to unclarity on the type (i.e., content) of training sessions practiced per week. For most of the studies ( n = 14) (87.5%) displayed unclear risk of bias to “selective outcome reporting” domain, because the studies did not clearly describe the exact number of players considered for the respective statistical analyses. No studies were judged with high risk of bias for each domain.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is fpsyg-13-943857-g002.jpg

Risk of bias judgments for training load monitoring in highly trained and elite adult women’s soccer studies through RoBANS.

Training load quantification methods

Regarding ETL during training sessions ( Table 2 ), eight studies have adopted speed-based intensity zones using arbitrary/fixed thresholds (between 12.2 and 18 km⋅h –1 ) ( Mara et al., 2015a , b ; Clemente et al., 2019 ; Costa et al., 2019a ; Douchet et al., 2021 ; Doyle et al., 2021 ; Romero-Moraleda et al., 2021 ; Xiao et al., 2021 ), while one study considered individual fitness level ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ). Two studies reported that players covered greater total distance and high-speed distance (>12.2 km⋅h –1 ) during the pre-season compared to early competitive season, and then decreased late in the season ( Mara et al., 2015b ; Clemente et al., 2019 ). On the other hand, three studies reported that total distance and high-speed distance (>12.6 km⋅h –1 and >maximal aerobic speed [MAS]) were stable in training sessions during international tournaments, independently of the data reported for official matches ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ; Costa et al., 2019a ; Doyle et al., 2021 ).

Training load data during training sessions in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players.

ReferenceTraining load variablesValuesDescription
TD (m)
HSD > 14 km⋅h (m)
Sprint distance > 20 km⋅h (m)
3000 to 5000
200 to 400
1000 to 1500
Mean of weekly load (lowest to highest load values) during 5 weeks of the pre-season.
HR (%HR )
TRIMP (AU)
s-RPE (AU)
70 ± 3 to 75 ± 4
72 ± 18 to 138 ± 29
193 ± 60 to 442 ± 159
Mean ± standard deviations (lowest to highest load values) during 3 weeks of the competitive season.
HR (bpm)
TRIMP (AU)
s-RPE (AU)
138 ± 13 to 149 ± 16.8
77 ± 36 to 110 ± 31
281 ± 117 to 369 ± 111
Mean ± standard deviations (lowest to highest load values) during 1 week of the competitive season.
TD (m)
HSD > 12.6 km⋅h (m)
s-RPE (AU)
2201 to 4284
130 to 756
131 to 360
Median (lowest to highest load values) during 9 days of international tournament.
HR (%HR )
TRIMP (AU)
s-RPE (AU)
74 ± 2
192 ± 21
326 ± 33
Mean ± standard deviations values during 6 weeks of the competitive season.
HR (bpm)
TRIMP (AU)
%HR
Time > 90 of %HR (min)
s-RPE (AU)
RPE (AU)
139 ± 12
211 ± 81
73 ± 6
8 ± 7
338 ± 107
3 ± 2
Mean ± standard deviations values during 6 weeks of the competitive season.
s-RPE (AU)604 ± 70Mean ± standard deviations value during 4 weeks of pre-season.
HR (bpm)
TRIMP (AU)
%HR
s-RPE (AU)
143 to 147
187 to 189
75 to 77
377 to 411
Mean values during 14 days of the competitive season.
TD (m)
HSD > 18 km⋅h (m)
Number of sprints > 19.4 km⋅h (counts)
Accelerations > 2 m⋅s (counts)
Decelerations > −2 m⋅s (counts)
HR (%)
s-RPE (AU)
RPE (AU)
3870 ± 870; 5090 ± 620
124 ± 61; 155 ± 92
7 ± 3; 7 ± 3
28 ± 12; 56 ± 10
31 ± 12; 61 ± 14
63 ± 6; 67 ± 7
201 ± 47; 357 ± 50
3 ± 1; 5 ± 1
Mean ± standard deviations values during 2 weeks: Low week load (1 week); heavy week load (1 week).
TD (m)
HSD > 12.6 km⋅h (m)
Number of sprints > 19.4 km⋅h (counts)
Accelerations > 3 m⋅s (counts)
Decelerations > −3 m⋅s (counts)
s-RPE (AU)
RPE (AU)
3339 to 59335
58 to 389
2 to 14
28 to 56
21 to 46
203 to 721
3 to 7
Median (lowest to highest load values) during 1 week of the competitive season.
RPE (AU)
3 to 6Mean of weekly load (lowest to highest load values) during 10 weeks of the competitive season.
TD (m)
HSD > 12.2 km⋅h (m)
Sprint distance 19.4 km⋅h (m)
Accelerations > 2 m⋅s (counts)
Decelerations > −2 m⋅s (counts)
6581 ± 847
880 ± 244
333 ± 107
49 ± 13
18 ± 9
Mean ± standard deviations values during 1 week of the pre-season.
TD (m)
HSD > 12.6 km⋅h (m)
Number of sprints > 19.4 km⋅h (counts)
Accelerations > 2 m⋅s (counts)
Decelerations > −2 m⋅s (counts)
6646 ± 111; 5437 ± 106
1415 ± 42; 1027 ± 40
27 ± 15; 24 ± 9
56 ± 19; 49 ± 14
22 ± 10; 20 ± 10
Mean ± standard deviations values during 18 weeks: pre-season (6 weeks); competitive season (12 weeks).
TD (m)
HSD > 15 km⋅h (m)
Accelerations > 1 m⋅s (counts)
Decelerations > −1 m⋅s (counts)
s-RPE (AU)
RPE (AU)
2496 ± 1639 to 4975 ± 1319
170 ± 214 to 494 ± 248
70 ± 56 to 144 ± 39
17 ± 17 to 38 ± 16
167 ± 134 to 579 ± 139
Mean ± standard deviations (lowest to highest load values) during 5 months of the competitive season.
HSD > 12.6 km⋅h (m)
Minutes spent > 80 %HR á (min)
TRIMP (AU)
RPE (AU)
250 to 2500
5 to 65
150 to 400
3 to 8
Individual means (lowest to highest load values) during 21 days of the competitive season.
TD (m)
HSD > 12.9 km⋅h (m)
3662 to 18461
1173 to 4994
Mean accumulated workloads over 4 weeks of the competitive season.

HR, heart rate; HSD, high-speed distance; s-RPE, session-rating of perceived exertion; TD, total distance; TRIMP, training impulse.

Internal training load was quantified using HR- and RPE-based methods ( Table 2 ). Seven studies quantified ITL using HR ( Costa et al., 2018a , b , 2019b , 2019c , 2021b ; Scott and Lovell, 2018 ; Douchet et al., 2021 ). Seven studies individualized physiological responses to exercise relative to HR max obtained by an incremental protocol until exhaustion Costa et al., 2018a , b , 2019b , 2019c , 2021a , b ; Scott and Lovell, 2018 ). Six studies quantified ITL using RPE ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ; Costa et al., 2019c ; Douchet et al., 2021 ; Doyle et al., 2021 ; Fernandes et al., 2021 ; Romero-Moraleda et al., 2021 ), while ten studies reported s-RPE ( Costa et al., 2018a , b , 2019a , 2019b , 2019c , 2021a , b ; Douchet et al., 2021 ; Doyle et al., 2021 ; Romero-Moraleda et al., 2021 ).

Training load and fatigue

The relationship between TL and fatigue has been examined in eight studies ( Mara et al., 2015b ; Costa et al., 2018a , 2019a , 2019b , 2021b ; Scott and Lovell, 2018 ; Douchet et al., 2021 ; Fernandes et al., 2021 ). During a 9-day international tournament, no significant within-subject correlations were observed between post-training night sleep parameters (e.g., total sleep time and sleep efficiency) and ETL metrics (e.g., distance and high-speed distance) ( Costa et al., 2019a ). On the other hand, small to moderate ( r = −0.43 to −0.17) within-subject correlations were observed between ITL (s-RPE and training impulse [TRIMP]) and sleep parameters (sleep duration and efficiency) during a 14-day competitive period ( Costa et al., 2021b ). Moreover, significant differences in sleep patterns and autonomic nervous activity responses when night training sessions were compared to competitive day matches and rest days, suggesting that the time of day for soccer practice may disrupt sleep patterns and nocturnal autonomic activity ( Costa et al., 2018a , 2019b ). In addition, Douchet et al. (2021) showed that a week with more accelerations and decelerations were significantly associated ( r = 0.94) with increased fatigue as witnessed by the greater RPE and perceived well-being (i.e., Hooper index). Associations were also found between perceived well-being (i.e., stress and fatigue) and s-RPE ( r = 0.69) during a 10-week competitive period ( Fernandes et al., 2021 ).

Self-reported measures of fatigue have shown significant associations with ELT (e.g., high-speed distance) on the previous day during a tournament ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ). Scott and Lovell (2018) described that self-reported fatigue and muscle soreness were negatively associated (small magnitude) with high-speed distance covered ( r = −0.20) using either fixed (>12.6 km/h –1 ) or individual thresholds during a 21-day training camp. Finally, Mara et al. (2015b) showed that self-reported fatigue and sleep times were not correlated with the total distance covered >12.6 km⋅h –1 , whereas muscle soreness was negatively correlated (moderate magnitude) with ETL parameters during the pre-season.

Training load and training adaptations

Information of the dose–response relationship between TL and training adaptations in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players is limited to one study ( Mara et al., 2015b ). Positive correlations were reported between changes in intermittent endurance capacity assessed through performance in the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test – level 2 after the pre-season ( r = 0.70), and accumulated ETL ( r = 0.71; r = 0.56, respectively), high-speed distance (>12.6 km⋅h –1 ) and accelerations (>2 m⋅s –2 ) during the pre-season ( Mara et al., 2015b ).

Training load and injury

Only one study reported the relationship between TL and injuries (defined as an event that caused the player to miss at least 1 subsequent practice or match and lower extremity injuries) in women soccer players ( Xiao et al., 2021 ), revealing that players that sustained an injury had significantly higher 2-, 3-, and 4-week accumulated TL and total distance covered as compared with injury-free players during the same time frame.

In the current systematic review, we confirmed the limited information available about training outcomes in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players, especially in the relationship between TL, training adaptation and injuries ( Kirkendall and Krustrup, 2021 ). Additionally, current monitoring practices in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players are sparse, which underline the need for conducting studies or surveys based on that implemented in men’s soccer ( Akenhead and Nassis, 2016 ).

External training load monitoring

Wearable microtechnology incorporating GPS, local positioning systems or triaxial accelerometers have shown good ability to measure ETL based on distance, speed, and accelerations in team sports ( Scott et al., 2016 ; Torres-Ronda et al., 2022 ). In this context, one key aspect of training prescription is to understand how the individual athlete is coping with the imposed training demands. While the use of individualized intensity zones to quantify ITL (e.g., based on HR max or HR reserve ) is widely adopted among sports practitioners, especially in men’s soccer ( Dellal et al., 2012 ; Akenhead and Nassis, 2016 ), the use of individualized intensity zones for ETL quantification (based on speed and acceleration) is not fully established, especially in women’s soccer. Actually, the individualization of speed-based EL based on testing metrics (e.g., MAS; and maximal sprinting speed, MSS) has received increased attention in adult men ( Hunter et al., 2015 ; Rago et al., 2019c , 2020 ) and youth soccer ( Mendez-Villanueva et al., 2013 ; Abbott et al., 2018 ) players, but not in women players. Generally, match-analysis reports in women’s soccer described physical match data using two different sprint thresholds, based on either fixed (20 km⋅h –1 ) and individualized (90% mean speed obtained from a 20-m sprint test) speed zones ( Nakamura et al., 2017 ). Similar patterns were observed between halves, and playing positions, but fixed speed zones may have likely underestimated the mean duration, distance, and the number of sprint sequences ( Nakamura et al., 2017 ). Additionally, only one study employed individual speed zones based on MAS and MSS, showing that individualizing ETL metrics did not improve the relationship between training load and self-reported fatigue ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ). In this study ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ), HSD > 12.6 km⋅h –1 ranged between 250 to 2500 m during 21 days of the competitive season. However, the latter study employed MAS and MSS separately, adopting the following criteria: distance covered >80% MAS, MAS, >50% MSS and 65% MSS ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ). Moreover, it is important to note the use of 50–65% MSS that could be close to the potential MAS (15–18 km⋅h –1 ) in elite athletes ( Rago et al., 2020 ), considering that women soccer players peak approximately at 30–32 km⋅h –1 during a match ( Datson et al., 2014 , 2017 ). This assumes a linear relationship between aerobic (MAS) and anaerobic ( Li et al., 2019 ) power that may consequently result in an erroneous interpretation of ETL. In this context, once MAS and MSS have been obtained from incremental and 40-m sprint tests, respectively, suggested by the assessment of anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) ( Bundle et al., 2003 ). The use of ASR rely on the fact that different players with the same MAS, but different sprinting capacity, require different training prescription when exercising at intensities above MAS ( Buchheit and Laursen, 2013 ). However, no information is available regarding ASR-based training load in women’s soccer. Similarly, no data are available on the individual training prescriptions based on maximal acceleration capacity in women soccer players. This might be relevant due to the frequent acceleration demands required during soccer training and match play, as well as the variations in acceleration capacity observed throughout different periods of the season ( Mara et al., 2015b ).

Internal training load monitoring

Internal training load is usually quantified using HR monitors, which generically provide information about the aerobic contribution during exercise ( Achten and Jeukendrup, 2003 ). A potential strength of HR-based methods is the information about aerobic contribution based on the strong relationship with oxygen consumption during exercise, when data are expressed as percentage of HR max or HR reserve ( Achten and Jeukendrup, 2003 ). On the other hand, a potential limitation of HR-based methods is the failure to detect anaerobic-oriented efforts such as sudden sprints or explosive bursts commonly observed during soccer training and match-play ( Achten and Jeukendrup, 2003 ; Dellal et al., 2012 ). Therefore, an integrated approach encompassing both ETL and ITL is imperative to provide a full picture the exercise demands placed on the athletes. Nonetheless, HR-based variables are sensitive in detecting day-to-day variations in TL in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players under different competitive conditions, such as a domestic league competitive period ( Costa et al., 2018a ) or an international tournament ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ).

Beyond the usefulness of HR-based methods, and despite the development of women’s soccer, most women’s teams worldwide might still have weak budgets compared to that of men’s teams to acquire sophisticated equipment, which frequently results in adopting cost-free methods based on the post-training subjective RPE ( Costa et al., 2019c ). The use of RPE-based methods such as the s-RPE is deemed to be valid in women soccer players based on its large relationship with HR-based methods (e.g., training impulse, Edwards’ TL; Costa et al., 2019c ). The latter study ( Costa et al., 2019c ), found an large correlation between s-RPE with TRIMP ( r = 0.74–0.82), with TRIMP values ranging from 211 ± 81 AU and s-RPE values from 388 ± 107 AU. However, the connection between RPE-based and ETL parameters is unknown in women soccer players. This would be useful to discriminate between TL parameters, providing practitioners with evidence-based TL metrics to be adopted in their monitoring systems.

Fatigue has been defined as the inability to complete a task that was once achievable within a recent time frame ( Pyne and Martin, 2011 ). Acute (immediately after) and residual (up to 72 h) fatigue may temporarily impair players’ readiness to train and compete ( Silva et al., 2018 ). In this context, monitoring TL may be useful to infer about acute and residual fatigue, allowing individual adjustments to training programs, improve well-being, restore physical capacity, and inform about the recovery process ( Hader et al., 2019 ). Generally, women soccer players may need up to 72 h to achieve full neuromuscular recovery after a competitive match ( Andersson et al., 2008 ; Krustrup et al., 2010 ; Sjokvist et al., 2011 ). Specifically, sprint performance, countermovement jump (CMJ), and peak torque in knee extension and flexion are reduced after a match ( Andersson et al., 2008 ; Krustrup et al., 2010 ; Sjokvist et al., 2011 ). However, changes in neuromuscular function following a match and throughout the recovery period need further elucidation in women’s soccer.

Notably, self-reported measures of fatigue are widely accepted among practitioners due to their ease to use and low-cost ( Hooper et al., 1995 ). Indeed, subjective measures have shown acceptable sensitivity and consistency in athletes ( Saw et al., 2016 ). For instance, self-reported measures of fatigue have shown significant associations with GPS-based TL on the previous day during a tournament ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ). In this study ( Scott and Lovell, 2018 ), irrespective of the quantification method adopted for HSD > 12.6 km⋅h 1 and very HSD (fixed or individualized speed zones), negative small correlations were observed with fatigue and soreness ( r = −0.25 to −0.14). Actually, it seems that self-reported outcomes might be dependent on the training and competitive context, underlining the need to consider studies with more extensive periods (e.g., full or multiple seasons) and over a wide range of fatigue and recovery indicators; specially because there is very limited information about acute and residual fatigue in relation to TL in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players. Findings in men’s soccer have shown significant correlations between various indicators of acute and residual fatigue and TL ( Thorpe et al., 2017a ; Hader et al., 2019 ). Specifically, non-invasive measures of fatigue such as sitting HR, submaximal HR, CMJ and self-reported questionnaires have shown responsiveness to daily and acute changes in TL over time ( Thorpe et al., 2015 , 2017b ). These measures can be routinely applied to a number of athletes to monitor changes in training status ( Buchheit, 2014 ). Moreover, subjective measures of fatigue can be easily incorporated into the monitoring systems, with the advantage of being cost-free and showing responsiveness to TL ( Saw et al., 2016 ).

Information regarding HR measures during recovery after training sessions or matches in highly trained and elite adult women’s soccer has been predominantly conducted during sleep time ( Costa et al., 2018a , b , 2019a , 2019b , 2021b ). Most players from the same team presented fluctuations in nocturnal cardiac autonomic activity (i.e., coefficient of variation ranging from 2.8 to 9.0%) ( Costa et al., 2019a ). However, no within-subject associations over time were observed between TL (e.g., s-RPE, TRIMP and distance > 12 km⋅h –1 ) and HR parameters during sleep ( Costa et al., 2019a , 2021b ). The authors ( Costa et al., 2019a , 2021b ) suggested that the amount of training and match demands (s-RPE ranging between 348 to 690 AU and TRIMP between 191 to 247 AU) prescribed to the players was not high enough to cause meaningful changes in cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic activities during sleep. Additionally, no evidence is available about resting and submaximal HR in women soccer players, as previously described in men’s soccer ( Naranjo et al., 2015 ). However, women soccer players showed significant differences in sleep patterns and autonomic nervous activity responses when night training sessions were compared to competitive day matches and rest days, suggesting that the time of day for soccer practice may disrupt sleep patterns and nocturnal autonomic activity ( Costa et al., 2018a , 2019b ). For example, during a 9-day international tournament, no significant within-subject correlations were observed between post-training night sleep parameters (sleep time, sleep efficiency and heart rate variability during sleep) and both ETL (i.e., HSD > 12.6 km⋅h 1 ranging between 130 to 756 m) and s-RPE (i.e., ranging between 131 to 360 AU) ( Costa et al., 2019a ). On the other hand, small within-subject correlations were observed between ITL (s-RPE [ranging between 377 to 411 AU] and TRIMP [ranging between 187 to 189 AU]) and sleep parameters (sleep duration and efficiency) during a 14-day competitive period ( Costa et al., 2021b ). Thus, even under stress imposed by tournament scheduling and training and match loads, the players maintained relatively good consistency in sleep habits to recover from the training sessions and matches.

Training adaptations

Following an acute fatigue phase, it is expected that chronic exposure to TL contributes to benefits in players’ fitness levels, resulting in positive health or performance adaptations ( Mara et al., 2015b ). Thus, understanding changes in physiological and functional capacities of women soccer players is of upmost importance given its meaningful connection with physical performance during a match ( Krustrup et al., 2005 ). Currently, the effectiveness of various training interventions (e.g., interval, resisted sprint, and plyometric training) in women’s soccer is well-documented ( Datson et al., 2014 ). However, it is important to note that some coaches could prescribe training programs based on their professional and educational background, with less attention to published training interventions ( Rago, 2020 ). This could be due to the fact that evidence-based analytic drills do not always fit within the technical staff philosophy. In this sense, observational studies considering the exercise prescribed by coaches and the associated training outcomes could aid in understanding the effectiveness of training programs without the need to design intervention studies. For example, employing field performance tests at different seasonal points while simultaneously quantifying TL allows the computation of the relationship between TL and changes in performance ( Jaspers et al., 2017 ). To date, only one study has adopted an observational design based on fitness testing at different seasonal points (i.e., 6 weeks of pre-season and 12 weeks of the competitive season) concerning TL; positive correlations were reported between changes in intermittent endurance capacity and ELT ( Mara et al., 2015b ). However, the latter study did not consider the individual capacity to adjust TL and only included maximal tests (e.g., jump, sprint, and time-to exhaustion). In this context, non-invasive measures of resting or submaximal HR may aid in detecting training adaptations without having the athletes to perform until exhaustion ( Buchheit, 2014 ; Naranjo et al., 2015 ; Rago et al., 2019d ). Also, different force-time and force-velocity components during the different phases of a jump might be sensitive in detecting training-induced changes ( Gathercole et al., 2015 ). In summary, information regarding the dose–response relationship between TL and training adaptations in highly trained and elite adult women soccer players is limited to one study ( Mara et al., 2015b ), which did not consider the individual capacity to quantify TL. Thus, further studies are warranted to explore the dose–response relationship that may elicit the desired long-term performance outcomes.

It has been reported that players might sustain illnesses or time-loss injuries during the season ( Fuller et al., 2006 ). Injury incidence in women’s soccer ranged between 1.2–7.0 injuries per 1,000 training hours, and 12.6–24.0 per 1,000 match hours ( Giza et al., 2005 ; Jacobson and Tegner, 2007 ; Tegnander et al., 2008 ; Alahmad et al., 2020 ). The latter studies were based on descriptive epidemiological information, without inferences computed on injury incidence or risk in relation to training outcomes. Only one study reported information about the relationship between TL and injuries. Xiao et al. (2021) found that higher accumulated player load and total distance covered (values ranging between 3662 to 18461 m) were associated with injury in women soccer players during the same time frame. Thus, it is currently not possible to provide an explanation about training-related factors associated to injury or medical assistance. Alternatively, registering the occurrence of medical assistance (instead of time-loss injuries), as previously described in other team sports, could be of interest ( Martinez-Riaza et al., 2017 ). Indeed, erroneous training progressions could result in delayed muscle soreness ( Thorpe et al., 2017a ) with an associated search for medical assistance. In general, the connection between training outcomes and injury risk has yet to be explored in women soccer players.

Information about TL in women soccer players is very sparse. Thus, it is very difficult for practitioners to consider evidence-based practices for training sessions beyond solid information available from match-analysis studies. For example, further studies on training contents, loads and adaptations are warranted to design match-like practice sessions and drills for women’s soccer. Moreover, the dose–response relationships between TL, fatigue, training adaptions and injuries need to be clarified to understand the optimal training stimulus to enhance performance while preserving players’ health. Also, future studies should encompass extensive periods with different seasonal phases (e.g., off-season, pre-season and in-season) and fixtures (e.g., ordinary microcycles, congested periods, national team breaks) with special emphasis on how TL affects training outcomes (e.g., acute fatigue, training adaptations, and injury risk) as previously examined in men’s soccer ( Jaspers et al., 2017 ). In addition, as future research, would be imperative to understand the importance of training load prescription and adaptation within youth women’s soccer players from different competitive levels, which may help to preventing decrements in performance, or enhancing recovery in women’s soccer population.

We have attempted to summarize current TL monitoring during training sessions in women’s soccer, which may help to inform the practitioners working with highly trained and elite players, but also identify knowledge gaps and make suggestions for future research. More specifically, from a physical and physiological perspective, future research should use monitoring technology to determine more accurately the physical and physiological demands of training in women soccer players.

Data availability statement

Author contributions.

JC, VR, and JB contributed to the conceptualization and methodology. JC, VR, PB, EA, and JB contributed to the formal analysis and investigation. JC, VR, PB, and EA contributed to the data curation. VR, PF, AS, EA, and JB contributed to the writing—review and editing. JC and JB contributed to the writing—original draft preparation and visualization. JC contributed to the software. JB contributed to the validation, resources, supervision, and project administration. All authors read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the collaboration of the corresponding author of the selected articles for sending the requested missing information.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.943857/full#supplementary-material

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Week 52 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital, Soccer Research

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    In quest of best performance, soccer athletes, coaches, and physical trainers have to decide how and when they have to invest their energy (Akubat et al., 2018). The performance analysis of soccer matches has been increasingly utilized during the previous years for this purpose (Sarmento et al., 2008; Enes et al., 2021).

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