Developing the Football Training Program Based on Competition Game Analysis of the 2024 Men's European Football Championship
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background and Aim: The development of youth football players requires training programs that accurately reflect the tactical, technical, and physical demands of elite-level competition. Modern football increasingly emphasizes positional play, rapid transitions, technical versatility, and tactical intelligence, making it essential to align youth development programs with contemporary international standards. This study aims to develop a football training program for youth players based on performance analysis from the UEFA Euro 2024.
Materials and Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods research design consisting of three phases. The first phase involved the analysis of competition statistics from the quarterfinal stage of UEFA Euro 2024. Using purposive sampling, 184 athletes from eight national teams participating in the quarterfinal round were selected as the research sample. The second phase focused on the development of a football training program for youth players through a focus group discussion involving nine football experts. The third phase evaluated the effectiveness and appropriateness of the training program through expert assessment by seven specialists. Quantitative data were analyzed using mean scores, standard deviation, and percentage analysis.
Results: The findings revealed significant variations in team performance during UEFA Euro 2024. Spain national football team recorded the highest number of total goals (15), while Switzerland national football team demonstrated the highest shooting accuracy (36.21%). Based on the competition analysis and expert recommendations, the proposed youth training program emphasized passing accuracy, purposeful ball possession, attacking overloads, spatial exploitation, compact defensive organization, rapid transitions, technical adaptability, and tactical understanding for players aged 13–14 years. Expert evaluation indicated high levels of appropriateness and effectiveness, particularly in age-appropriate player development (4.86 ± 0.38), attacking principles (4.86 ± 0.38), and defensive principles (4.86 ± 0.38).
Conclusion: This study developed a football training program for youth players aged 13–14 years grounded in performance analysis from UEFA Euro 2024 and validated through expert evaluation. The findings provide a practical framework for enhancing youth football development by integrating modern tactical concepts and elite competition characteristics into structured training programs.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright on any article in the International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews is retained by the author(s) under the under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permission to use text, content, images, etc. of publication. Any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose. But do not use it for commercial use or with the intent to benefit any business.
References
Aquino, R., Carling, C., Palucci Vieira, L. H., Martins, G., Jabor, G., Machado, J., & Puggina, E. (2017). Influence of situational variables, team formation, and playing position on match running performance in Brazilian professional soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(8), 2159–2171. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001674
Beato, M., Stiff, A., Coratella, G., & Schena, F. (2023). Short-term effects of different tactical formations on physical and technical parameters in football players. Biology of Sport, 40(1), 111–118. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2023.112209
Bradley, P. S., Ade, J. D., Di Mascio, M., & Sirdifield, S. (2022). The impact of tactical formations on physical and technical match performance in professional soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 40(3), 341–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2021.1970475
Bunchom Srisa-at. (2002). Fundamental research (7th ed.). Bangkok: Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.
Casal, C. A., Maneiro, R., Ardá, A., Marí, F. J., & Losada, J. L. (2019). Analysis of corner kick success in elite football. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 19(4), 575–591. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2019.1633397
Casamichana, D., Castellano, J., & Dellal, A. (2019). Influence of different training regimes on physical and physiological demands during small-sided soccer games: A pilot study. Journal of Human Kinetics, 69, 179–188. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2019-0016
Castellano, J., & Casamichana, D. (2016). What are the differences between the first and second halves in elite soccer? International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 16(3), 907–914. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2016.11868935
Castellano, J., & Casamichana, D. (2021). Analysis of play in elite football using positional data: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 2802. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062802
Clemente, F. M., Afonso, J., & Sarmento, H. (2020). The effects of small-sided soccer games on technical actions and skills: A systematic review. Human Movement, 21(1), 100–119. https://doi.org/10.5114/hm.2020.93014
Fernández, J., Moreno, J. & García-Rubio, J. (2019). Influence of playing position and team formation on physical and technical match performance in professional soccer players. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 14(4), 888–900. https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2019.144.06
Fernandez-Navarro, J., Fradua, L., Zubillaga, A., Ford, P. R., & McRobert, A. P. (2016). Attacking and defensive styles of play in soccer: Analysis of Spanish and English elite teams. Journal of Sports Sciences, 34(24), 2195–2204. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1169309
Fernandez-Navarro, J., Zubillaga, A., Fradua, L., Ford, P. R., & McRobert, A. P. (2020). Influence of contextual variables and the team’s style of play on goals scored in European professional soccer matches. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 20(1), 104–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2019.1709398
Ford, P. R., Carling, C., Garces, M., Marques, M., Miguel, C., Farrant, A., Stenling, A., & Williams, A. M. (2021). The developmental activities of elite soccer players aged under-16 years from Brazil, England, France, Ghana, Mexico, Portugal, and Sweden. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39(13), 1479–1487. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2021.1895830
Ford, P. R., Low, J., McRobert, A. P., & Williams, A. M. (2020). Developmental activities that contribute to high or low performance by elite soccer players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(1), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1697683
González-Víllora, S., Aranda, R., & García-Ceberino, J. M. (2022). Comparative study of technical and tactical actions in under-12 and under-16 elite football players. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2), 705. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19020705
González-Víllora, S., Serra-Olivares, J., Pastor-Vicedo, J. C., & da Costa, I. T. (2015). Review of the tactical evaluation tools for youth players, assessing the tactics in team sports: Football. SpringerPlus, 4(1), 663. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-015-1462-0
Hughes, M., & Franks, I. M. (2005). Analysis of passing sequences, shots, and goals in soccer. Routledge.
Lago-Peñas, C., & Gómez-López, M. (2019). How important is it to score a goal? The influence of the scoreline on match performance in elite soccer. Journal of Human Kinetics, 66, 205–215. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2018-0058
Mackenzie, R., & Cushion, C. (2012). Performance analysis in football: A critical review and implications for future research. Journal of Sports Sciences, 31(6), 639–676. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.746720
Macnamara, Á., & Maitra, M. (2019). The role of psychological characteristics in facilitating the pathway to elite performance in cricket. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 45, 101546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.101546
O'Sullivan, M., & Atkins, C. (2018). The coaching process in soccer: An overview and practical strategies. In C. Collins & M. O'Sullivan (Eds.), Contemporary Issues in Sport Coaching (pp. 101–116). Routledge.
O'Sullivan, M., & Atkins, C. (2021). Soccer coaching and the complexity of player development. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(2), 378–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954120937351
Práxedes, A., Moreno, A., Gil-Arias, A., Claver, F., & Del Villar, F. (2019). The effect of a comprehensive teaching program, based on tactical principles, on physical and physiological variables in young football players. Journal of Human Kinetics, 69(1), 299–307. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2019-0013
Rein, R., & Memmert, D. (2016). Big data and tactical analysis in elite soccer: Future challenges and opportunities for sports science. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1410. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-016-3108-2
Roca, A., Ford, P. R., McRobert, A. P., & Williams, A. M. (2020). Perceptual-cognitive skills and their interaction as a function of task constraints in soccer. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 42(5), 339–347. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2020-0121
Sarmento, H., Clemente, F. M., Harper, L. D., Teoldo, I., Owen, A., Figueiredo, A. J., & Praça, G. M. (2018). Small-sided games in soccer – a systematic review. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 18(5), 693–749. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2018.1517288
Zhou, C., & Zhang, T. (2023). Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns in football using GPS tracking data. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 18(1), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541221117103
