ArticleBiology of sport2021
Combining small-sided soccer games and running-based methods: A systematic review.
Article in Biology of sport, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative efficacy of different training modes on physical fitness in soccer (football) players: a systematic review and network meta-analysis incorporating randomized controlled trials.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of carbohydrate mouth rinse on psychophysiological responses, kinematic variables and technical actions during small-sided soccer games.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Trial
- Comparative changes in cardiovascular measures following speed, agility, and quickness training and small-sided games in youth football players: a randomized trial.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Acute Effects of Small-Sided Games and Tabata High-Intensity Interval Training on Physical, Psychophysiological, and Cognitive Responses in Male Soccer Players.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Weekly Heart Rate Variability and Training Zone Analysis in U-15 Soccer Players: The Predictive Value of Combined Warm-up Protocols for Optimizing Cardiovascular Monitoring.Advanced biomedical research · 2026Article
- An umbrella review of soccer small-sided games: developing an evidence-informed design model linking training components to performance outcomes.Biology of sport · 2026Review
- External and Internal Loads of Transition Games Are Affected by the Presence of an Opposing Team and Their Initial Positions.Journal of human kinetics · 2025Article
- Balancing the load: A narrative review with methodological implications of compensatory training strategies for non-starting soccer players.Biology of sport · 2024Article
- A new approach to comparing the demands of small-sided games and soccer matches.Biology of sport · 2024Article
- Assessing physical fitness adaptations in collegiate male soccer players through training load parameters: a two-arm randomized study on combined small-sided games and running-based high-intensity interval training.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Motor ability development by integrating small-sided games into physical education class.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Tactical Knowledge by Decision Making and Motor Efficiency of Young Football Players in Different Playing Positions during a Three-a-Side Small-Sided Game.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Physical predictors for retention and dismissal of professional soccer head coaches: an analysis of locomotor variables using logistic regression pipeline.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- Effects of pitch size on soccer players' physiological, physical, technical, and tactical responses during small-sided games: a meta-analytical comparison.Biology of sport · 2023Review
- Effects of a small-sided games training program in youth male soccer players: variations of the locomotor profile while interacting with baseline level and with the accumulated load.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Do conditioning focused various-sided training games prepare elite youth male soccer players for the demands of competition?Biology of sport · 2022Article
- Effects of small-sided games and running-based high-intensity interval training on body composition and physical fitness in under-19 female soccer players.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2022Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Small-sided games (SSGs) are often used in soccer to produce acute physiological and physical responses, while a tactical/technical stimulus is also employed. However, due to some limitations of SSGs, researchers have been testing this method combined with running-based training methods. This systematic review was conducted to assess the effects of combined SSG and running-based methods on soccer players' acute responses and adaptations after training interventions. A systematic review of Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The database search initially identified 782 titles. From those, five articles were deemed eligible for the systematic review. The five included studies presented data from training load, reporting inconsistent greater values in combined SSG and running-based methods when compared to SSG-only formats. Considering the adaptations, studies comparing combined SSG and running-based methods with SSG-only methods revealed inconsistent differences in terms of the effects on aerobic performance and sprinting. Combining SSG and running-based methods can increase the acute mechanical load and high-intense running stimuli in players when compared to interventions that use only SSGs. However, the adaptations promoted by both methods are similar, and the differences are unclear. The order of combination (SSG and running-based method) does not seem to impact players' adaptations; however, the frequency of sessions did have a meaningful impact.
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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.