{"title":"Differences in spatiotemporal pressure and performance between Chinese and German elite youth football players during matches.","authors":"Yapu Liang, Tianhe Li, Hansi Xu, Peng Zhang","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1543287","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>In modern football, spatial and temporal pressure significantly influence player performance and tactical outcomes, particularly in youth competitions. This study aims to investigate the spatial pressure differences between Chinese and German U17 elite youth football teams, focusing on the ball-handler's distance to the nearest defender (D).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Video analysis was conducted to measure D across various match contexts, including scorelines (leading, tied, and trailing), game phases (passing and receiving), pass outcomes (successful and unsuccessful), and pitch zones. Statistical analyses were performed using non-parametric methods to compare the D under different conditions. The Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test and Kruskal-Wallis <i>H</i> test were used to identify significant differences, with <i>post hoc</i> comparisons conducted where necessary.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Results show that the German team consistently maintained greater D than the Chinese team (<i>p</i> < 0.001, <i>d</i> = 0.463), highlighting their superior spatial management and tactical adaptability.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Greater D was associated with enhanced offensive flexibility and defensive stability, allowing the German team to create space effectively and maintain structural integrity under pressure. In contrast, the Chinese team's smaller D suggested limitations in spatial utilization and higher defensive engagement risks. These findings underscore the importance of tactical training emphasizing spatial awareness and balanced pressure management, providing valuable insights for youth football development.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"16 ","pages":"1543287"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11794819/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1543287","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: In modern football, spatial and temporal pressure significantly influence player performance and tactical outcomes, particularly in youth competitions. This study aims to investigate the spatial pressure differences between Chinese and German U17 elite youth football teams, focusing on the ball-handler's distance to the nearest defender (D).
Methods: Video analysis was conducted to measure D across various match contexts, including scorelines (leading, tied, and trailing), game phases (passing and receiving), pass outcomes (successful and unsuccessful), and pitch zones. Statistical analyses were performed using non-parametric methods to compare the D under different conditions. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to identify significant differences, with post hoc comparisons conducted where necessary.
Results: Results show that the German team consistently maintained greater D than the Chinese team (p < 0.001, d = 0.463), highlighting their superior spatial management and tactical adaptability.
Discussion: Greater D was associated with enhanced offensive flexibility and defensive stability, allowing the German team to create space effectively and maintain structural integrity under pressure. In contrast, the Chinese team's smaller D suggested limitations in spatial utilization and higher defensive engagement risks. These findings underscore the importance of tactical training emphasizing spatial awareness and balanced pressure management, providing valuable insights for youth football development.
期刊介绍:
Frontiers in Psychology is the largest journal in its field, publishing rigorously peer-reviewed research across the psychological sciences, from clinical research to cognitive science, from perception to consciousness, from imaging studies to human factors, and from animal cognition to social psychology. Field Chief Editor Axel Cleeremans at the Free University of Brussels is supported by an outstanding Editorial Board of international researchers. This multidisciplinary open-access journal is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians and the public worldwide. The journal publishes the best research across the entire field of psychology. Today, psychological science is becoming increasingly important at all levels of society, from the treatment of clinical disorders to our basic understanding of how the mind works. It is highly interdisciplinary, borrowing questions from philosophy, methods from neuroscience and insights from clinical practice - all in the goal of furthering our grasp of human nature and society, as well as our ability to develop new intervention methods.