Mental Fatigue in Soccer: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Fatigue in soccer players is traditionally investigated based on neuromuscular and metabolic factors. However, given that soccer is one of the sports that has the highest cognitive demand, it is believed that players' performance might also be influenced by the high levels of attention, and frequent decision-making required in soccer. This systematic review aimed to verify the effects of mental fatigue on physical, technical, tactical and cognitive performance of soccer players. We searched in the electronic databases Pubmed, Web of Science and Scopus, for articles published up to 30 April 2018. We included articles that used a protocol of mental fatigue through cognitive tasks performed prior to a physical or cognitive task related to soccer. Only studies that presented an experimental design with the control condition (without mental fatigue) and the experimental condition (with mental fatigue) were selected. A total of six articles met the inclusion criteria, one study by backward reference search and other through the authors' indication. The results showed smaller distances covered in physical tests, while the effects of mental fatigue on physical performance in small-sided games were not clear. In technical tests, there were more penalties in passes and less accuracy and speed when kicking the ball when players were in conditions of mental fatigue. Regarding the tactical variables, it was found that mental fatigue had a detrimental effect on the synchronization between team players and on individual tactical performance in defensive actions. In cognitive tests, based on video recordings of game play, negative effects on the players' speed and accuracy of decision-making were observed. According to the results of the literature search, it can be inferred that mental fatigue is a factor that has a negative influence on soccer performance. Level of evidence II; Systematic review.

Oral health problems in high-performance athletes at 2019 Pan American Games in Lima: a descriptive study

“…In this respect, this contribution is added to the list of studies conducted in Latin America. 4 , 5 , 14 – 19 Furthermore, this study was based on the official data of the sports event, and it had as a reference source the monitoring system of the Olympic Committee (SVLE-IOC) that provides standardized information for sports events and has been widely used in previous studies. Despite the information system was conceived by using a medical-clinical perspective, dental variables in the data delivered at the JPL-19 were not considered because few data about oral health were available.…”

“…Oral health problems in athletes can affect their performance, for example, malocclusion can cause posture problems, pain in the jaw, neck, back, as well as breathing problems impairing rest and muscle repair during sleep. 4 , 5 On the other hand, periodontal diseases can directly affect muscle recovery and consequently sports performance, especially in high-performance athletes with a weakened immune system associated with high levels of cortisol due to being under permanent stress and demand, 3 , 6 presenting pain from deep cavities; for example, it has been associated with an 18% decrease in sports performance that can lead to partial or total disability to compete. 2 Furthermore, if left untreated it can trigger a disseminated infection beyond the damaged tooth, causing an accumulation of pus and affecting the well-being of athletes.…”

Does mental fatigue affect skilled performance in athletes? A systematic review

“…The influence of fatigue on sports performance has primarily been measured from both a metabolic and a neuromuscular standpoint (physical fatigue) [ 11 ]. However, recent discussions on the role of mental fatigue in sports performance have diverged [ 12 , 13 ] from the common factor of “physical fatigue” [ 10 ].…”

Mental Fatigue and Basketball Performance: A Systematic Review

“…An increasing number of articles have focused on the influences of MF in a variety of sports areas, including systematic reviews (Van Cutsem et al, 2017 ; Pageaux and Lepers, 2018 ; Kunrath et al, 2020 ; Habay et al, 2021 ). However, a systematic review investigating the influences of MF in the sport of basketball is lacking.…”