Position-specific physical and technical demands during the 2019 COPA América Football tournament

BACKGROUND: Despite a substantial body of literature on the physical and technical performance characteristics of football players in Asian and European tournaments, research on South American football players is scarce. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to examine the physical and technical characteristics of football players according to specific playing positions at the 2019 COPA América tournament. METHODS: A total of 180 match observations from 13 games were monitored using the InStat tracking system. Players were grouped into the following five playing positions: central defenders (n = 45), wide defenders (n = 46), central midfielders (n = 50), wide midfielders (n = 17), and forwards (n = 22). RESULTS: Descriptive statistics (means ± standard deviations) and the one-way analysis of variance were used to analyse the data. Findings showed that the total distance covered by central midfielders (10 553 ± 763 m) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of central defenders (9226 ± 720 m; effect size (d) = 1.79), wide defenders (9929 ± 633 m; d = 0.89) and forwards (9383 ± 820 m; d = 1.45). Wide midfielders (214 ± 170 m), wide defenders (152 ± 199 m) and forwards (138 ± 94 m) covered greater distances sprinting than central defenders (67 ± 42 m; d = 1.19) and central midfielders (91 ± 66 m; d = 0.95). Concerning technical variables, central midfielders played significantly more passes compared to players in other playing positions (p < 0.05). In relation to crossing, wide defenders completed significantly more crosses than players in other positions (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings have direct implications for tailoring tactics so players can meet the physical and technical demands of the game.