ArticlePloS one2020
Area per player in small-sided games to replicate the external load and estimated physiological match demands in elite soccer players.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative effects of high-intensity interval training and small-sided games on physical fitness in male adolescent team-sport athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Quantifying Exposure and Intra-Individual Reliability of High-Speed and Sprint Running During Sided-Games Training in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of Small-Sided Games and High-Intensity Interval Training on The Rating of Perceived Exertion in Soccer Players Across Competitive Levels: Controlling for Percentage of Heart Rate Reserve.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Trial
- Can The Pitch Dimension Influence the Physical Fitness Adaptations Induced by Small-Sided Training Programs Added to Regular In-Field Training? A Randomized Controlled Study in Youth Soccer Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2024Trial
- Effects of Task Constraint Manipulation on Physical, Physiological and Technical-Tactical Demands of Small-Sided Games in Soccer: A Systematic Review.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
- Game Density Modulates External Load During Small-Sided Games in Elite U17 Soccer Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2026Article
- Position-Specific External Load Between Official Matches and Small-, Medium- and Large-Sided Games in Professional Football.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Effects of player number and pitch size on internal and external load in small-sided Ultimate Frisbee games.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Comparative analysis of performance data from various small-sided games with match data.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Large-sided games do not replicate the positional worst-case scenarios of official matches in professional football.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Can heat stress affect the psychophysiological responses and locomotor demands of young soccer players during small-sided soccer games?PloS one · 2026Article
- A new conceptual framework for managing hamstring injury risk in soccer - implementing a data-informed approach: a narrative review.Biology of sport · 2026Review
- Running demands during top-up conditioning sessions compared to competitive matches in elite Portuguese soccer players.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- The effect of small-sided games and HIIT formats and competitive level on enjoyment and exercise intensity in young adult male soccer players.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- Analysis of the effects of manipulating the space and number of players in small-sided games on the external load demands of futsal athletes in different age categories.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- The Impact of Managerial Changes on Physical Performance in Elite Soccer Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- How Does the Number of Small Goals Affect National-Level Female Soccer Players in Game-Based Situations? Effects on Technical-Tactical, Physical, and Physiological Variables.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Effect of Well-Being and Exercise Intensity on Enjoyment in Soccer Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Article
- Effects of Eight-Week Game-Based High-Intensity Interval Training Performed on Different Pitch Dimensions on the Level of Physical Capacity and Time-Motion Responses in Youth Soccer Players.Journal of human kinetics · 2025Article
- Intensity vs. Volume in Professional Soccer: Comparing Congested and Non-Congested Periods in Competitive and Training Contexts Using Worst-Case Scenarios.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The current study determined the area-per-player during small- or large-sided games with or without goalkeeper that replicates the relative (m·min-1) total distance, high-intensity running distance, sprint distance and metabolic power covered during official matches. Time-motion analysis was performed on twenty-five elite soccer-players during 26 home-matches. A total of 2565 individual samples for SSGs using different pitch sizes and different number of players were collected and classified as SSGs with (SSG-G) or without goalkeeper (SSG-P). A between-position comparison was also performed. The area-per-player needed to replicate the official match demands was largely higher in SSG-G vs SSG-P for total distance [187±53 vs 115±35 m2, effect size (ES): 1.60 95%CI 0.94/2.21], high-intensity running distance [262±72 vs 166±39 m2, ES: 1.66(0.99/2.27)] and metabolic power [177±42 vs 94±40, ES: 1.99(1.31/2.67)], but similar for sprint distance [(316±75 vs 295±99 m2, ES: 0.24(-0.32/0.79)] with direction of larger area-per-player for sprint distance > high-intensity running > total distance ≌ metabolic power for both SSG-G and SSG-P. In SSG-G, forwards required higher area-per-player than central-defenders [ES: 2.96(1.07/4.35)], wide-midfielders [ES: 2.45(0.64/3.78)] and wide-defenders [ES: 3.45(1.13/4.99)]. Central-midfielders required higher area-per-player than central-defenders [ES: 1.69(0.20/2.90)] and wide-midfielders [ES: 1.35(-0.13/2.57)]. In SSG-P, central defenders need lower area-per-player (ES: -6.01/-0.92) to overall replicate the match demands compared to all other positions. The current results may be used to gain knowledge of the SSGs relative to the match demands. This imply manipulating SSGs using higher or lower ApP, the presence of the goalkeeper or design specific rules to increase or decrease the position-specific demands with respect to the desired external load outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.