The aim of this study was to examine the differences in the physical demands and technical-tactical actions encountered by soccer players between two playing formations (1-4-2-3-1 and 1-4-4-2) for each playing position. Twenty-three professional male soccer players who played 31 official matches participated in this study. Players were classified according to their playing position: central defenders (CD), wide defenders (WD), central midfielders (CM), wide midfielders (WM), offensive midfielders (OM) and forwards (FW). The physical demands were collected as total distance (TD), distance covered in different speed thresholds, and number of accelerations and decelerations. Also, the technical-tactical variables were recorded. The results showed that the 1-4-2-3-1 playing formation demanded decelerations between 2–4 m·s² (p = 0.027; ES = 0.26) in comparison with 1-4-4-2 for all players. Likewise, forwards (FW) and central midfielders (CM) registered higher physical demands playing with the 1-4-2-3-1 compared to the 1-4-4-2 formation. Regarding the technical-tactical actions, they showed differences between the playing positions of the two playing formations. The findings suggest coaches prescribe specific training programs based on the influence of the playing formation and playing position on the physical demands and technical-tactical actions encountered by players during official match-play.

The aim of this study was twofold: (i) to analyze the physical demands in the return to play (RTP) process of high-level soccer players in the role of floater in different soccer sided games (SGs) formats (i.e., 4vs4 + 2 and 8vs8 + 1); and (ii) to analyze the differences in physical demands encountered by regular and floater players among the SGs formats and official matches by means of global positioning system technology (GPS APEX pod, North Ireland) was used. Twenty-six highly trained, male soccer players (U16 years) participated in this investigation. Players were classified into two groups: 23 regular and 3 floater players, a total of eight SGs were analyzed, which involved the recording of 80 observations of regular and floater players. Match-play players showed most likely–probable differences in distance covered at high-intensity per minute (D > 14.4/min), at high-speed running per minute (D > 21/min), and peak velocity (Vpeak) in comparison to floaters in the 8vs8 + 1 LSG (large-side-games), and presented most likely differences in accelerations >2/min in comparison to match-play players. Therefore, the use of floaters during the last phase of the RTP (return to play) seems to be a useful strategy for progressive reintroduction into specific training (1) floater in the 4vs4 + 2 SSG; (2) floater in the 8vs8 + 1 LSG; (3) regular player in the 4vs4 + 2 SSG; and (4) regular player in the 8vs8 + 1 LSG before starting full trainings and returning to competition.

This study analyses the physical performance variables involved in different training tasks aimed at replicating the worst-case scenarios (WCSs) observed during official matches in professional football, with a focus on playing positions and occurrences within a 1 min period. Data were collected from 188 training sessions and 42 matches of a Spanish Second Division team during the 2021/2022 season. All data were reported on a per-player basis. GPS tracking devices were used to record physical variables such as total distance, high-speed running (HSR), sprints, accelerations, decelerations, and high metabolic load distance (HMLD). Players were grouped according to their match positions: central defenders, wide players, midfielders and forwards. The results showed that none of the training tasks fully replicated the physical demands of match play. However, task TYPEs 11 (Large-Sided Games) and 9 (small-sided games with orientation and transition) were the closest to match demands, particularly in terms of accelerations and decelerations. Although differences were observed across all variables, the most pronounced discrepancies were observed in sprint and HSR variables, where training tasksfailed to reach 60% of match demands. These findings highlight the need to design more specific drills that simulate the intensity of WCS, allowing for more accurate weekly training load planning. This study offers valuable contributions for optimising performance and reducing injury risk in professional footballers during the competitive period.