The Influence of Playing Position on Physical, Physiological, and Technical Demands in Adult Male Soccer Matches: A Systematic Scoping Review with Evidence Gap Map

Background

There has been an increase in studies examining the demands of soccer relative to each playing position in recent years. Understanding the physical, physiological, and technical demands on soccer players according to their positional role during competitive matches is necessary to understand match requirements and develop position-specific training practices. Thereby, there is a clear need to synthesize the information on the different profiles of each playing position.

Objective

This review aimed to organize the literature investigating physical, physiological, and technical demands according to playing positions and provide a framework to identify gaps and suggestions for future studies.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted in October 2023 using four electronic databases: Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, PubMed and Scopus. The review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines and the PRISMA-ScR extension for Scoping Reviews. The studies were included if the sample comprised adult male soccer players categorized from Tier 3 to Tier 5 (i.e., highly trained/national level, elite/international level, or world class) and compared the physical, physiological, or technical parameters across playing positions.

Results

A total of 178 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The number of teams, players, and matches analyzed per study varied considerably. Although a range of classifications were reported across studies, 59% of studies classified players as central defenders, full-backs, central midfielders, wide midfielders, and forwards. The findings suggests that central and external midfielders, and external defenders cover greater total and high-speed distance than forwards or central defenders. Sprint distance was higher in external midfielders versus all other positions. Defenders and central midfielders perform more passes than external midfielders and forwards. Heart rate was the most commonly reported physiological variable across playing positions. When expressed as a percentage of maximal heart rate, midfielders presented higher mean values than all other playing positions.

Conclusion

This scoping review demonstrates that there are differences in the demands on players across playing positions in soccer. Training practices in soccer should be based on the specific requirements of each positional role to ensure players can fulfill their tactical responsibilities during the game.