Abstract
Soccer is a sport practiced in an open environment and is under the interference of the local environmental conditions of the game. Different environmental conditions, such as heat, relative humidity, cold and altitude can cause changes in the players’ body homeostasis. Thus, this study aimed to verify the effect of different ambient temperature on the tactical, technical and physical performances of national teams in World Cup. The sample was composed by FIFA World Cup games played in Brazil/2014 (n=64; 24.98±4.51°C), and South Africa/2010 (n=61; 14.69±4.70°C). The data were obtained from FIFA website. Temperature was categorized in four ranges: ≤10°C; 11–20°C; 21–30°C; ≥31°C. The tactical (% ball possession time in each sector of the field), technical (% successful conclusions, % successful short, medium, long and total passes) and physical (distance covered) performances of the teams were compared based on temperature ranges. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, ANOVA One-Way and Kruskal-Wallis (p<0,05) were used to compare the averages by temperature range, in addition to the Tukey and Mann-Whitney tests (post-hoc). The results showed that the ambient temperature had an influence on the time of possession of the ball in the defensive (p<0.001), midfield (p<0.004) and offensive (p <0.001). In addition, in relation to technical performance, warmer temperatures positively influenced the percentage of correct passes for short (p<0.028), medium (p <0.014), long (p<0.001) and total (p<0.001), in addition to the percentage of correct shots on goal (p<0.001). On the other hand, with regard to physical performance, warmer temperatures negatively influenced the total distance covered (p<0.001). The ambient temperature influenced the tactical, technical and physical performance of the national teams. In the World Cup, in matches played in warmer temperature ranges, the teams suffered a change in tactical performance, showed improvement in technical performance, and losses in relation to physical performance.
Highlights
Soccer is played all over the world and, in several different environments (Reilly & Williams, 2003)
In the World Cup, in matches played in warmer temperature ranges, the teams suffered a change in tactical performance, showed improvement in technical performance, and losses in relation to physical performance
One of the first studies to investigate the influence of ambient temperature on physical performance was conducted by Ekblom (1986), who observed a decrease in the total distance covered in high intensity in the games played in environmental temperature of 30 °C compared to games played in environmental temperature of 20 °C
Summary
Soccer is played all over the world and, in several different environments (Reilly & Williams, 2003). The study conducted by Carling, Dupont, and Le Gall (2011) found cold environments had no influence on the total distance run by players in three different speed zones (0-14.3 km/h; 14.4-19.7 km/h and ≥ 19.8 km/h). Based on these studies, hotter environmental conditions seem to make players more susceptible to losses in physical performance
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