ReviewBiology of sport2023
Effects of pitch size on soccer players' physiological, physical, technical, and tactical responses during small-sided games: a meta-analytical comparison.
Review in Biology of sport, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 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.
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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
35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of the number of players on the emergence of creative movements in small-sided soccer games: a systematic review emphasizing deliberate practice.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- The Effects of Small Vs. Large-Sided Games on Physical Fitness Adaptations: A Randomized Controlled Design in Female Soccer Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Trial
- Comparing Physical Fitness Adaptations Induced by Small-Sided Soccer Games with and Without Ball Touch Limitations: A Randomized Parallel and Controlled Study.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Trial
- Using Match Reference Values of External Load to Monitor Performance and Fatigue in Football: Are We Looking the Right Way?Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- 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
- Using the Relative Pitch Size, Internal Floaters, and External Floaters During Different Small-Sided Games in Professional Soccer in the Return-to-Play Process.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 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
- Match outcome influences accumulated but not relative external load in rolling small-sided games with loser rotation.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Vertical Force-Velocity Profiling in Soccer: A Systematic Review of Evidence, Assumptions, and Limitations.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Review
- A 3-day step taper enhances explosive power, repeated sprint, and small-sided game performance in soccer.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- The effectiveness of differential learning in small-sided soccer games for skill development in U20 amateur male players.Biology of sport · 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
- Maturity-Related Responses to Small-Sided Games in Youth Football.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 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
- Energy cost and game dynamics in soccer: comparing sided games and repeated sprint training.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Physiological, technical, and time-motion responses according to small-sided game formats and pitch size variations in adolescent male soccer players: effects of biological maturity status.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
- 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
- Fixed pitch size small-sided games in young soccer players: effects of different age categories and competitive levels on the physical and physiological responses.Biology of sport · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
One of the most often-used task constraints in designing small-sided games (SSGs) is the manipulation of pitch size to promote increases or decreases in the relative area per player. Such adjustments cause changes in the acute responses during SSGs. This systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to compare the effects of smaller vs. larger pitch sizes on soccer players' physiological, physical, technical, and tactical responses during SSGs. Comparisons between smaller and larger pitches were not considered based on a specific size, but also between using at least two dimensions in the same comparative study, aiming to understand differences between using smaller and larger (independently of the specific dimensions). The data sources utilized were PubMed, PsycINFO, Scielo, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. The database search initially yielded 249 titles. From those, 41 articles were eligible for the systematic review and meta-analysis. Results revealed that, compared to smaller pitches, SSGs played on larger pitches induced greater values for heart rate (p < 0.001; ES = 0.50), rate of perceived exertion (p < 0.001; ES = 0.70), total distance (p < 0.001; ES = 1.95), high-speed running (p < 0.001; ES = 1.20), stretch index (p < 0.001; ES = 1.02) and surface area (p < 0.001; ES = 1.54). No significant differences were found between pitch size regarding the numbers of accelerations (p = 0.232; ES = 0.45), decelerations (p = 0.111; ES = 0.85), passes (p = 0.897; ES = 0.02), dribbles (p = 0.823; ES = -0.05), or positional centroid (p = 0.053; ES = 0.56). Larger pitch sizes can be implemented as a meaningful task constraint to increase the internal and external load experienced by soccer players during SSGs, as well as to increase the dispersion of players while acting together. These results were found independent of format and age group.
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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.