Study design
A schematic representation of the study design is given in Figure 1. The study was designed to
simulate competition experienced by highperformance male junior soccer players in Australia
during the National Championships. After 12 weeks of pre-season soccer training, participants played four competitive soccer matches in 4 days with approximately 24 h between matches. To reduce the potential influences of match-play variables, the investigators asked the coaches to implement the same tactical strategy in each match.