Research
Mixed
Reducing the number of players in soccer small-sided games (SSG) increases physiological intensity, specifically heart rate and blood lactate, compared to larger formats.
To increase the cardiovascular intensity of your soccer training, reduce the number of players on the field. Smaller formats (like 2v2 or 3v3) force more touches and higher heart rates than larger games, even if the total distance covered is less. Be aware that results can vary based on pitch size and player ability.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
In general, these studies have shown that SSG formats with fewer players elicit greater heart rate than the larger formats... However, some authors reported a different conclusion... because no differences were found in heart rate responses between SSG formats.
Why this rating
The paper is a review highlighting inconsistent results across multiple studies.
Source
A Review on the Effects of Soccer Small-Sided Games
Marco Aguiar et al. · Journal of Human Kinetics · 2012
DOI 10.2478/v10078-012-0049-x
narrative_reviewCited 371×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Reducing pitch size in soccer small-sided games increases technical actions like shots and tackles, while larger pitches increase aerobic metabolic demands.Moderate
- Continuous small-sided games (SSG) elicit higher maximum heart rate and RPE than intermittent SSG, but intermittent SSG allows for higher sprint ratios and total distance at high speeds.Moderate
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