Acceleration and High-Speed Running Profiles of Women's International and Domestic Football Matches

Abstract

Acceleration and deceleration are important given football is an intermittent sport with constant changes in velocity and direction. It is unclear, however, if the accelerations and decelerations performed by players differ between competition levels. The aim of the present study was to compare the acceleration, deceleration, and high-speed running profiles of players during international and domestic matches and to determine if differences were apparent across playing positions (defenders, midfielders, and attackers). GPS data from 21 Australian women's domestic football league matches over 2 seasons (2016–2018) and 15 Australian women's international matches (2017–2018) were collected and analyzed. Movement pattern data was collected using VX Sport and GPSports 10 Hz GPS receivers. Variables analyzed included: total distance, distance covered high-speed running (16–20 km·h−1) distance covered sprinting (> 20 km·h−1) and time spent accelerating and decelerating in four predetermined bands (1–2 m·s−2, 2–3 m·s−2, 3–4 m·s−2, and > 4 m·s−2). Results revealed that players competing in international matches covered significantly greater total distances, greater high-speed running distances and greater sprinting distances as well as spending a greater duration accelerating in band 4 compared to players in domestic competitions (p < 0.05). Players competing in international matches spent significantly less duration decelerating in bands 2 and 3, compared to players in domestic competitions. International defenders and midfielders recorded significantly higher total distances and high-speed running distance compared to players in domestic matches. Our findings suggest that preparing players for international-level competition should include progressive exposure to high-speed running and sprinting distances, as well as high magnitude accelerations. Furthermore, the higher running speeds experienced by players during international matches appears to be a result of less time spent decelerating. The optimal deceleration necessary for specific situations appears important and emphasizes the need for specific deceleration training. The increased effort of high-intensity activity that is required for players competing in international matches affects defenders and midfielders to the greatest degree. Gradual exposure to the increased running demands for midfielders and defenders competing in international matches is needed to improve performance and reduce the potential risk of injury.

A systematic review of match-play characteristics in women’s soccer

“…However, when excluding the largest number of matches observed within a single study (n = 695) [ 53 ], the mean reduced to 27 (1–230) matches. The majority of studies involved competitive match-play only, with two studies involving both competitive and friendly match-play [ 40 , 57 ], three studies involving only non-competitive match-play [ 31 , 39 , 72 ], and two studies not stating whether match-play was competitive or friendly [ 20 , 61 ]. Nineteen studies did not report the number of match files.…”

“…Of the 26 studies which categorised players by playing position; 9 studies utilised high-level categorisation (i.e. defenders vs midfielders vs forwards) [ 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 57 , 77 , 81 , 86 ]; 7 studies differentiated central and wide defenders and midfielders (i.e. central defenders vs wide defenders vs central midfielders vs wide midfielders vs forwards) [ 19 , 26 , 33 , 51 , 52 , 74 , 80 ]; 5 studies differentiated central and wide defenders only (i.e.…”

“…The methods for establishing or adopting velocity thresholds included; arbitrary velocity thresholds which have previously been utilised in men’s soccer literature [ 26 , 35 , 43 , 44 , 51 , 52 , 65 , 81 , 89 ], sample-mean or individualised velocity thresholds derived from physical performance characteristics (e.g. sprint speed and maximal aerobic speed [ 20 , 63 , 72 , 73 , 84 ], velocity thresholds based on physical performance characteristics of women’s soccer players from existing literature [ 29 , 33 , 40 , 41 , 46 , 57 , 78 , 79 ], derived velocity thresholds from match-play data of senior women’s soccer players [ 8 , 38 , 39 , 70 , 82 ], or a justification for velocity thresholds adopted was not provided [ 31 , 49 , 40 , 56 , 61 , 62 , 71 , 73 , 74 , 77 , 80 , 86 ]. Additionally, 2 studies [ 34 , 54 ], established velocity zones based on qualitative movement descriptors which had previously been utilised in men’s sports outside of soccer (e.g.…”

“…Where a rationale was provided, thresholds were either; derived from physical performance characteristics of the sample (e.g. acceleration during a maximal sprint; >2.26 m·s -2 ) [ 20 , 72 , 84 ] or aligned to previous men’s soccer literature (>2 m·s -2 ) [ 57 , 69 ]. Five of these studies presented accelerations and/or decelerations within acceleration/deceleration zones, however all studies adopted different thresholds (<1, >1 m·s -2 [ 80 ]; 1–2, >2 m·s -2 [ 77 ]; 0.5–1.99, 2–2.99, >3 m·s -2 [ 62 ]; 0.5–1.49, 1.5–2.99, >3 m·s -2 [ 74 ]; 1–2, 2–3, 3–4, >4 m·s -2 [ 57 ]).…”

Injuries in elite‐level women’s football—a two‐year prospective study in the Irish Women’s National League

“…Data from GPS technologies and camera-based player tracking systems allows coaches to monitor the high speed running and sprinting distances, as well as the number of accelerations and decelerations completed by players in matches and training sessions. 32,33 These data should be used by coaches to ensure that players are adequately prepared for the demands of match play.…”