In-Field Tactical Training In Modern Soccer: A Scoping Review
Keywords:
tactical training; soccer; football; constraints-led approach; small-sided games; ecological dynamicsAbstract
Background: Tactical performance in football is now widely understood through an ecological-dynamics lens, in which representative, in-field training tasks rather than decontextualized technical drills are held to drive the emergence of tactical behavior. Despite considerable applied interest in the Constraints-Led Approach, small-sided games, and related methodologies, no review has yet mapped the controlled-trial evidence for in-field tactical training, as distinct from the broader, design-unrestricted evidence on soccer decision-making recently scoped elsewhere (Machado et al., 2026). The objective of this review was to map and characterize the available controlled-trial evidence on in-field/on-pitch tactical training methodologies and their effects on tactical-behavioral and decision-making outcomes in football players, from youth through professional and semi-professional levels.
Methods: The PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) was followed to conduct this review. Three major databases were searched; PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for records published between January 2010 and May 2026. Eligible designs comprise randomised controlled trials, quasi-experimental/non-randomised trials, and pre-post intervention studies conducted in applied, ecologically valid training environments.
Results: The search returned 74 records; 23 remained after de-duplication and title/abstract screening, and seven studies satisfied the full eligibility criteria. Included studies spanned U-12 to professional levels and examined the Constraints-Led Approach, nonlinear pedagogy, small-sided and conditioned games, tactical-periodization-informed designs, and hybrid on-/off-field approaches. All seven studies reported a favorable effect of the in-field intervention on tactical behavior or decision-making, although heterogeneity in outcome instrumentation precluded meta-analysis.
Conclusions: Representative, constraint-manipulated in-field training designs are consistently associated with improved tactical behavior across the developmental pathway, but the evidence base remains small and methodologically heterogeneous. Larger randomised trials and standardized tactical-assessment instrumentation are needed.
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