Acute Internal and External Loads in Change-of-Area and Fixed-Area 3v3v3+2 Small-Sided Games Across Three Pitch Sizes in Male Soccer Players

Three-team rotation small-sided games (SSG) combine possession-based training with an embedded passive-recovery role, yet how the rule that governs attacking transitions interacts with pitch size in this format is unclear. This study used a repeated-measures design to compare the acute internal load, external load, and post-condition rating of perceived exertion (RPE) of two 3v3v3+2 SSG formats, change-of-area (COA) and fixed-area (FA), played on three pitch sizes (small, medium, and large; 75.3, 100, and 150 m2 per player). Each condition consisted of four 4 min bouts separated by 2 min of passive recovery. Twenty-two male soccer players (age 21.5 ± 1.85 years) took part. In COA, the team in possession redirected its attack toward a new target zone after a passing threshold was met; in FA, play remained in a single undivided zone. Heart rate (Polar H10), locomotor variables (10 Hz GPS, Catapult Vector S7), and RPE (modified Borg CR-10) were recorded. Format × pitch-size interactions were tested with repeated-measures ANOVA, and format differences within each pitch size were expressed as COA minus FA with 95% confidence intervals and Holm-adjusted p-values. The interaction was significant for HRmax, HRmean, time in the 70–79% and 90–100% HRmax zones, RPE, total distance, accelerations, and decelerations (all p < 0.05). On the small pitch, COA produced higher HRmax (185.5 ± 9.6 vs. 173.0 ± 7.1 bpm), RPE (7.9 ± 0.8 vs. 5.6 ± 0.8), total distance (1650.3 ± 280.8 vs. 1455.1 ± 299.0 m), accelerations, and decelerations (all Holm-adjusted p < 0.05, dz = 0.81–2.11), and on the medium pitch COA produced more high-speed running and decelerations. Higher heart-rate and total-distance values in FA on the medium and large pitches were suggestive but did not remain significant after adjustment. Within this protocol, COA was associated with a greater acute load on the small pitch, and the relative demand of the two formats varied with pitch size; these findings are provisional and apply to the studied male players and game structures.