Exercise-induced fatigue and soccer kicking performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis of performance outcomes and contextual moderators.

BACKGROUND

The effects of exercise-induced fatigue on soccer kicking performance remain inconsistent across studies and performance metrics, suggesting that fatigue-related impairments may depend on contextual and task-related factors.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to quantify the effects of exercise-induced fatigue on ball velocity, kicking accuracy, and lower-limb kinematics, and to examine whether selected fatigue protocol, task instruction, and player-level factors explained between-study variability in these effects.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science were searched from inception to April 2025 and updated in December 2025. Experimental studies in male outfield players with pre-post fatigue comparisons were included. Random-effects meta-analyses (Hedges' g) and predefined subgroup analyses were conducted. Within-participant pre-post correlations were extracted, derived, or imputed, and sensitivity analyses were conducted using alternative correlation assumptions. Risk of bias was assessed using RoBANS-2 and certainty of evidence using GRADE.

RESULTS

Thirty-five studies (733 players) were included in the systematic review, and 31 were meta-analysed. Exercise-induced fatigue was associated with lower ball velocity (Hedges' g = -0.589, 95% CI: -0.789 to -0.388; p <.001; I² = 72.2%; low certainty) and a smaller reduction in kicking accuracy (g = -0.265, 95% CI: -0.449 to -0.081; p = .005; I² = 58.2%; low certainty). Foot velocity also showed a negative pooled effect (g = -0.348, 95% CI: -0.618 to -0.078; p = .012), but certainty was very low. Hip, knee, and ankle angular velocities showed no clear pooled changes. Formal subgroup tests suggested moderation by kicking instruction for ball velocity and by fatigue protocol for kicking accuracy; no significant between-subgroup differences were found for player level or the remaining tested subgroup comparisons.

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise-induced fatigue was associated with reduced soccer ball velocity and a smaller, less certain reduction in kicking accuracy. Evidence for reduced foot velocity was tentative, whereas evidence for changes in hip, knee, and ankle angular velocities was very uncertain. Contextual variation was partly supported, particularly for kicking instruction and fatigue protocol, but should be interpreted cautiously given heterogeneity and low or very low certainty of evidence.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://osf.io/rmht7/, identifier OSF.IO/RMHT7.