The purpose of this paper was to systematically review and organise the literature on soccer SSGs, in order to ascertain the most frequently researched topics, characterise the methodologies employed, and systematize the evolution of the related research areas. A systematic review of Web of Science, Pubmed and SPORTDiscus databases was performed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. The following keywords were used: football and soccer, with each one associated with the terms: "small sided games", SSG, "drill-based training", "small sided", "conditioned games" and "position games". The search returned 394 records. After screening against set criteria, a total of 77 manuscripts were fully reviewed. The most common topics of analysis were (1) pitch area; (2) player number: (a) with/without a goalkeeper; (b) with floater(s) in/outside the pitch; (3) goal: (a) goal vs scoring zone; (b) number of goals; (c) size of goals; (4) rules modification/task constraints (a) nº ball touches; (b) offside rule; (c) others; (4) training regimen, (5) coach encouragement. This review provides valuable information on the complex relationship between technical, tactical and physiological interactions in SSGs and how the manipulation of these types of variables can improve the soccer training process.

The present study aimed to compare players’ tactical behaviour in 3 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 6 soccer small-sided games (SSGs). The sample comprised 3,482 tactical actions performed by 18 U-11 youth soccer players from a Portuguese club, in 3 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 6 SSGs. All participants played eight minutes in both situations and field size was adapted according to the number of players involved (30 m × 19.5 m for 3 vs. 3 and 60 m × 39 m for 6 vs. 6). The System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT) was used for data collection and analyses. Descriptive analysis was conducted to verify frequencies and percentages of the variables assessed. The chi-squared (χ2) test was performed to compare the frequencies of the variables between 3 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 6 SSGs and Standardized Residuals (e) were used to examine the influence of the frequency of one or more variables within 3 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 6 SSGs. Data treatment was performed through SPSS for Windows®, version 18.0. Results indicated that players displayed safer behaviours in 6 vs. 6 SSG and more aggressive behaviours in 3 vs. 3 SSG. Findings can aid coaches and teachers to develop different players’ tactical skills according to the chosen SSG (3 vs. 3 or 6 vs. 6) form.

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The present study aimed to investigate whether the form and amount of declarative tactical knowledge (DTK) and procedural tactical knowledge (PTK) influence cognitive effort during soccer performance among young players. We assessed 36 male players from a Brazilian first-division soccer club; participants averaged 14.89 ( SD = 1.42) years of age. We evaluated DTK from video simulation tests and PTK through the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer. We assessed cognitive effort by measures of pupil diameter using Mobile Eye Tracking-XG while players viewed soccer video scenes and made game-related play decisions. After the assessment of tactical knowledge, we categorized the sample according to players’ tactical knowledge into participants with higher and lower PTK and higher and lower DTK. Subsequently, we examined the both PTK and DTK groups on cognitive effort. Our results suggest that tactical knowledge influences cognitive effort in that players with higher PTK and DTK displayed less cognitive effort during soccer performance tasks. In conclusion, we observed that PTK and DTK influenced the cognitive effort younger soccer players expended while viewing soccer scenes and making soccer performance decisions.

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6This study examined players' tactical behaviours based on core tactical principles during 7 small-sided and conditioned games (SSCG) with and without floaters on the sidelines. 8 A total of 24,068 tactical actions performed by 168 Under-17 academy soccer players 9 were assessed using the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT; Teoldo, 12 revealed that players showed different tactical behaviours depending on the SSCG 13 format and playing phase. In "Floaters off" SSCG, players more frequently performed 14 the core tactical principles of concentration during the defensive phase and penetration 15 for the offensive phase of play creating more opportunities for 1 vs. 1 situations. In 16 contrast, in the "Floaters sidelines" SSCG, players made more effective use of playing 17 space (width and length) in the opponent's half during the offensive phase; and limited 18 the space for the opponent by compacting the defence in their own half (defensive unity) 19 due to numerical disadvantage during defensive phase. Findings suggest that the use of 20 floaters (on the sidelines) encourage players to keep ball possession during offensive 21 organisation, as well as promote the team's defensive stability by decreasing the spaces 22 between teammates during defensive organisation.23 24

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate if player tactical skill level and age category influence team performance and player exploratory behavior in tasks with different difficulty levels. Method: In total, 48 youth male soccer players participated in the study (U15, n = 24, mean age = 13.06 ± 1.53 years; U17, n = 24, mean age = 16.89 ± 0.11 years). Player tactical skills were evaluated through the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT), allowing them to be organized into three groups according to tactical efficiency: Higher tactical skill level (Group 01), Intermediate tactical skill level (Group 02), and Lower tactical skill level (Group 03). Next, Group 01 and Group 03 of both categories performed six Small-Sided and Conditioned Games (SSCG) each, namely three High difficulty SSCGs and three Low difficulty SSCGs. Team performance and players' exploratory behavior were analyzed through the Offensive Sequences Characterization System and Lag Sequential Analysis, respectively. Results: We found that team performance and players' exploratory behavior were influenced both by the age and tactical skill level of the players, as well as by task difficulty level. Conclusion: Therefore, in an attempt to improve player performance, practitioners must carefully manipulate key task constraints to adapt training task difficulty levels to player age and tactical skill level.