SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2023
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.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 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
- Combining HIIT with Small-Sided Soccer Games Enhances Cardiometabolic and Physical Fitness More Than Each Alone in Overweight Youth: A Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Trial
- Sex Influences the Extent of Physical Performance Adaptations in Response to Small-Sided Games and Running-Based High-Intensity Interval Training: A Parallel Study Design Involving Men and Women Soccer Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2024Trial
- 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
- 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
- You Play the Way You Train: The Influence of Accumulated Weekly Training Loads on Match Physical Performance in Soccer Players.Journal of human kinetics · 2026Article
- Physiological determinants of heart rate responses and bout-to-bout stability during 2v2 and 4v4 small-sided games in football players.Frontiers in public health · 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
- Effects of Combined Repeated Sprint and Large-Sided Game Training on Physical Performance in Elite U20 Soccer Players: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Different sizes of position games and official matches in youth professional soccer player.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- 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
- Training exercises, match demands, and variability in elite futsal.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- The effect of relative pitch size on physiological, physical, technical and tactical variables in small-sided games: a literature review and practical guide.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Review
- Influence of contextual factors on most demanding scenarios in under-19 professional soccer players.Biology of sport · 2024Article
- External and internal training load comparison between sided-game drills in professional soccer.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- Internal and external load during on-field training drills with an aim of improving the physical performance of players in professional soccer: a retrospective observational study.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
- Training load comparison between small, medium, and large-sided games in professional football.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Article
- High-speed running and sprinting in professional adult soccer: Current thresholds definition, match demands and training strategies. A systematic review.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSided games (i.e., small sided, medium sided, large sided) involve tactical, technical, physical, and psychological elements and are commonly implemented in soccer training. Although soccer sided-games research is plentiful, a meta-analytical synthesis of external load exposure during sided games is lacking.
objectiveThe objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to: (1) synthesize the evidence on high-speed and sprint running exposure induced by sided games in adult soccer players, (2) establish pooled estimates and intra-individual reliability for high-speed and sprint running exposure, and (3) explore the moderating effects of game format and playing constraints.
methodsA literature search was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. Four databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science Core Collection) were systematically searched up to 25 January, 2022. Eligibility criteria were adult soccer players (population); training programs incorporating sided games (intervention); game manipulations including number of players, pitch dimension, and game orientation (comparator); and high-speed, very high-speed, and sprint relative (m[Formula: see text]min
resultsA total of 104 and 7 studies met our eligibility criteria for the main and reliability analyses, respectively. The range of relative distances covered across small-sided games, medium-sided games, and large-sided games was 14.8 m[Formula: see text]min
conclusionsThis review is the first to provide a detailed synthesis of exposure and intra-individual reliability of high-speed and sprint running during soccer sided games. Our estimates, along with the moderating influence of common programming variables such as velocity thresholds, area per player, and game orientation should be considered for informed planning of small-sided games, medium-sided games, and large-sided games soccer training. CLINICAL
trial registrationOpen Science Framework available through https://osf.io/a4xr2/ .
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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.