Distance Covered and Movement Intensities of Football Players at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – Differences According to Game Positions
Modern football is characterized by playing both in defense and attack, which requires greater energy demands from players, and the amount and intensity of movement increases from year to year. The aim of the study was to determine differences in the distance covered and movement intensities of players in relation to their position in the team. The sample was players who played all 90 minutes of the knockout phase of the 2022 World Cup (N=224), according to positions: goalkeepers (n=31), defense (n=101), midfielders (n=61), and attackers (n=31). Data were taken from the official FIFA website (www.fifa.com): distance covered (m), distance covered in zone 1 (speed 0-7 km/h), in zone 2 (7-15 km/h), in zone 3 (15-20 km/h), in zone 4 (20-25 km/h) and in zone 5 (>25 km/h), number of runs in zone 4, number of sprints in zone 5, maximum achieved speed (km/h). Differences between positions were determined by discriminant analysis. Three discriminant functions were isolated that are statistically significant at the 99% level (sig.=0.000) (Can. Cor.=0.934; Can. Cor =0.492 and Can. Cor.=0.356). The highest correlations with the first function, which maximally differentiates positions (Wilks Lambda =0.085; sig.=0.000), have the variables: intensity of movement in zone 2, number of runs in zone 4 and total distance covered. The second function (Wilks Lambda =0.662; sig.=0.000) is determined by the maximum achieved speed and distance covered in zone 3. The third function (Wilks Lambda =0.873; sig.0.000) is determined by intensity of movement in zone 4, number of sprints, distance covered in zone 5 and in zone 1. Excluding the goalkeeper position, it is evident that positions in the team are approaching each other in relation to distance covered, intensity of movement and maximum speed of movement, which supports the thesis that in modern football, polyvalent football players who can be used in multiple positions in the team are increasingly profiled