Understanding the within match differences and variability during international youth male football match play in Oceania

Abstract

Background

The technical and physical outputs from international match play are limited within certain football confederations due to multiple factors (facilities, staffing, costs), which can help better inform practitioners in supporting player development.

Objectives

To assess the differences and explain the variability within technical actions and locomotor activities of Oceania youth male tournament matches.

Methods

All matches were monitored using foot-mounted inertial measurements units (F-IMU; Playermaker^TM), to quantify the technical (Touches, Releases, Time on the Ball, Release velocity) and locomotor activities (Distance Covered, High-Speed/ Sprint distance, Accelerations/Decelerations, Changes of Direction) from both an absolute and relative perspective. Data were analysed using a linear mixed model. Statistical significance was accepted as p ≤ 0.05 and measures of effect size were calculated using partial eta-squared (η²). Magnitude of effect sizes were small (0.2 < ES < 0.6), moderate (0.6 < ES < 1.2), large (1.2 < ES < 2) and very large (≥2).

Results

Variability within matches across metrics was most explained by the individual player, rather than the team, phase or match. Within match differences showed that the 1^st period was higher for all metrics compared to the 2^nd and 3^rd period. Differences between team's showed small to large effect sizes across all teams for all metrics (absolute & relative).

Conclusion

International youth football within the Oceania confederation, showed differences across locomotor activities and technical actions within match play and between teams, with variance explained most by the individual player. This information can be used to support players development, while providing benchmarks for future tournaments as a comparative within different confederations.