Performance of soccer players under acute physical fatigue: An approach based on cognitive, tactical and physical aspects

This study aimed to verify whether peripheral perception, tactical behaviour, and physical performance are influenced by acute physical fatigue in soccer players. The study included 24 trained soccer players (18.6 ± 1.5 years) from two Brazilian clubs. The TSAFT90 test was used to induce acute physical fatigue. The results showed that physical fatigue did not affect peripheral perception (p = 0.360). Regarding tactical behaviour, improved efficiency was observed for the principles of offensive coverage (p = 0.029), width and length with the ball (p = 0.044), and concentration (p = 0.008). On the other hand, a reduction was observed in the number of tactical actions of offensive coverage (p = 0.020) and recovery balance (p = 0.042). Also, improved accuracy in the principles of defensive balance (p = 0.009), recovery balance (p = 0.021) and defensive unity (p = 0.003) occurred under physical fatigue. A reduction in the physical performance outcomes total distance covered (p < 0.001), average speed (p < 0.001), sprints (p = 0.029), number of accelerations (p = 0.008) and decelerations (p = 0.008) were also detected. The internal (p < 0.01) and external (p < 0.01) workload was higher under physical fatigue. Overall, acute physical fatigue did not influence peripheral perception. However, physical performance was reduced under fatigue, the perceived effort increased, and tactical behaviours were affected by decreasing tactical actions performed near the ball, increasing errors in defensive movements in the lateral corridors and the last defensive line, and improving offensive tactical actions performance.