https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2431-5633
Figures
Abstract
Perceptual-cognitive skills are a key performance component within professional soccer. Consequently, their role within talent development environments has gained increasing attention. Despite this growing interest, research linking perceptual-cognitive skills to the talent development process remains relatively limited. The present study provided a scoping review examining perceptual-cognitive skills within soccer-specific environments within the last three decades, with a particular focus on outcomes relevant to talent development contexts. Following PRISMA guidelines, specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were set, where 55 studies were included in the final review. Narrative analysis identified key themes in the literature, including visual search behaviours, cognitive capabilities, performance, and methodologies. These themes are discussed with areas for future research identified to support the work of stakeholders in talent development contexts (e.g., coaches, scouts, academy directors), to re-direct future research efforts to further bridge the gap between science and application.
Citation: Triggs AO, Causer J, McRobert AP, Andrew M (2025) Perceptual-cognitive skills and talent development environments in soccer: A scoping review. PLoS One 20(7): e0327721. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327721
Editor: Leonardo Vidal Andreato,, Amazonas State University, BRAZIL
Received: March 25, 2024; Accepted: June 19, 2025; Published: July 8, 2025
Copyright: © 2025 Triggs et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: This is a review paper and so raw data is not present. All relevant data (articles reviewed) are within the manuscript.
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Introduction
The identification and development of talented youth soccer players who have the potential to progress to professional status is a key objective for soccer academies and national governing bodies [1]. Over recent years, professional clubs have increased investment in their talent identification (TI) and development (TD) programmes, employing multidisciplinary teams including coaches [2], scouts [3], sport scientists [4], performance analysts [5], and more recently, data scientists [6] to enhance their TI and TD processes by creating an environment that educates and supports young players across multiple domains, including technical, tactical, physical, psychological, lifestyle, and well-being aspects of both soccer and personal development [7]. To support these efforts, extensive research has explored key predictors of future expert performance, identifying factors such as physical attributes (e.g., speed; [8,9]), skill (e.g., technical; [10–12]), sociological influences (e.g., developmental activities; [13,14]), psychological characteristics (e.g., motivation; [15]), and chance events (e.g., relative age effect; [16]) (for a review, see [17]). These insights have provided an evidence-based foundation for professional clubs to refine their identification, development, and (de)selection processes, providing opportunities for a more systematic approach within talent pathways [17,18]. However, even with an increase in research which provide opportunities for improved knowledge and the integration of evidence-based practice; principles and frameworks within talent pathways remain largely experience informed [19].
It is well accepted that in combination with high-levels of technical skills (e.g., passing, shooting, dribbling), a future predictor of expert performance in soccer are perceptual-cognitive skills (PCS; [17]). PCS skills are defined as an ability to identify and acquire environmental information that is integrated with existing knowledge, where an appropriate goal-directed response(s) can be selected and executed [20]. PCS are complex but include: visual search, which refers to an athletes ability to attend to important/relevant information of the unfolding event(s)/action(s) [21]; anticipation, which refers to an athletes ability to predict the event(s)/action(s) that are likely to unfold prior to an event occurring [22]; and decision-making, which refers to an athletes ability to use information from the current situation to plan, select and execute an appropriate goal-directed action(s) [23]. Empirical research supports the importance of PCS in distinguishing skilled from less-skilled players. O’Connor et al., [24] demonstrated that elite youth footballers outperform non-selected peers on decision-making tasks, suggesting that PCS are a key differentiating factor in talent programmes. Similarly, Roca et al. [25] found that elite players exhibited superior response accuracy in perceptual-cognitive tasks, reinforcing the notion that cognitive processing underpins soccer expertise. Further evidence from Huijgen et al. [26] highlights that elite youth players outperform sub-elite counterparts in executive functioning tasks. PCS can therefore support soccer players to make faster and more effective decisions [27,28] by identifying and utilising multiple sources of information efficiently in a dynamic game environment [29]. PCS are therefore an important component within talent pathways to support the development of future expert performance. As a result, knowing how to identify, monitor and assess players with high level PCS as well as the understanding of how to develop these skills may seem essential for practitioners aiming to have players equipped for the demands of first team soccer at 18 years of age.
Despite the recognised importance of PCS in soccer performance, research within TD environments have largely overlooked their role in assessing and developing future talent. While links between PCS, soccer performance, and talent progression are evident, there remains a lack of clarity into how these skills are identified, assessed, and developed in TD environments. This gap highlights not only a challenge in translating scientific research into practice but also raises questions about whether current research outputs provide practitioners with actionable guidance. If PCS research is to meaningfully impact TD environments, it must align with the needs of applied practitioners by offering transferable frameworks, clear assessment methodologies, and practical development strategies. Identifying what is missing in the current body of literature is therefore crucial to bridging the science-to-practice gap.
Present study
The aim of this review was to examine the current literature on PCS in soccer to identify its role within talent pathways and identifying how it can be used to better support practitioners. Specifically, the review explores how PCS have been investigated, and to what capacity these research findings inform those responsible for TD (e.g., coaches). This review provides an opportunity for researchers to reflect and reframe current research interests surrounding soccer and PCS, ensuring that research outcomes have applicability to TD environments or improve the guidance and frameworks around how practitioners can utilise such evidence informed approaches. If research can be more effectively embedded into TD structures, both player development and club outcomes may benefit, reinforcing the rationale for the growing focus on PCS research.
Given the diverse literature base and methodological approaches used in PCS research in soccer, a scoping review was deemed the most appropriate method to map existing research, identify key themes, and provide recommendations for future PCS research within TD contexts [30–32]. As shown in Fig 1, interest in soccer-specific PCS research has accelerated since the early 2000s (e.g., Williams & Ward, [33]). Accordingly, this review covered research from 2003 to 2024, capturing three decades of evolving inquiry. The principal research question was “what is the extent and nature of research conducted on PCS in soccer that provide applications for TD contexts/practitioners within the last three decades?” To our knowledge, this is the first review to comprehensively examine PCS within soccer and their links with TD.
Methods
A scoping review was selected over a systematic review as: (1) the research area had not been extensively reviewed; (2) there was a diverse body of literature pertaining to a broad topic; and (3), there were a large range of study designs and methodologies within the literature examining PCS [30–32]. Unlike systematic reviews, which address specific questions to inform targeted interventions or practices, a scoping review provides a comprehensive overview to map key concepts and identify gaps in the literature [34]. This approach allowed for the systematic identification of available research on PCS in soccer and its applicability to TD contexts, thereby guiding future research directions [34]. The methodological framework included identifying the research question; identifying relevant studies; selecting relevant studies; charting the data; and summarising, collating the data, and reporting the results [31]. Preferred reporting items for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist items were held (S1 Table) to maintain methodological and reporting quality [35].
Search strategy
The search strategy was initiated in January 2025 and completed in February 2025. To ensure quality and appropriate coverage, the following electronic databases were used to search for relevant publications; PubMed, PsycInfo, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. Additional relevant articles were identified through Google Scholar and hand-picked for inclusion.
The search strategy was designed to capture research on PCS in soccer which included applications relevant for TD contexts/practitioners. Search term one focused on mode of sport and was ‘football’ OR ‘soccer’. Search term two targeted key PCS concepts [36,37], including ‘perceptual-cognitive skills’, ‘game-intelligence’, ‘scan*’, ‘anticipation’, ‘decision-making’, and ‘visual-search’. To further improve relevance of articles with applications that could be considered for TD practitioners, search term three, ‘coach*’, was used in addition to the outcomes of search term one and two combined. This term was used to focus on TD, where coaches are one of the main stakeholders involved in such processes [3], and aimed to allow inclusion of articles which included more explicit applications of PCS research outputs. The asterisk used for ‘scan*’ and ‘coach*’ acted as a truncation operator and allowed variations of the key word to be found. Search term combinations that returned too many results with lack of specificity to the topic area were removed (Table 1).
Screening process
The initial search returned 2,702 results across core databases. Articles were title and key word screened for relevance independently by two reviewers, then screened by a third reviewer. Articles meeting the initial inclusion criteria (soccer and PCS specific) were downloaded and indexed using bibliographic manager EndNoteX9 (Clarivate, UK), allowing effective management of the publications. For the publications selected, duplicates were removed (n = 345) and abstract screening commenced (n = 567) independently by the same reviewers, where the following inclusion criteria needed to be met: empirical articles; publications from 2003-2024; within soccer; focus on PCS or key terms related to this; contain applications/implications for TD settings or direct applications for applied practitioners (e.g., coaches); participants (male or female, youth or adult) from soccer-teams (any playing level due to broader applicability of research findings) and could include practitioners (e.g., coaches) or players but not include teachers or school students; the article published in English; and had to relate to outfield players/not include analysis of penalty kicks due to its lack of representation of the whole game of soccer (Table 2).
Reviewers utilised a red-amber-green (RAG) rating scale due to its universal simplicity and understanding of the reviewer’s status with their decision-making process [38], where any amber rated publications were discussed with additional members of the research team. If a decision could not be made or the decision to include/exclude was not unanimous, the most experienced author made the final decision. Qualitative records from the selected articles were extracted into a single Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for validation and coding. The articles remaining (n = 125) were full text screened by the same reviewers, utilising the same inclusion/exclusion criteria stated, before agreement checks of included/excluded articles by two additional reviewers. Amber coded articles followed the same agreement processes as previous. After coding, the selected publications (n = 55) were appraised for: major foci of the study; participants and contexts; methodology; key findings and applications of findings for TD contexts/practitioners in soccer (see Fig 2 for selection process summary). Despite the application of inclusion/exclusion criteria, the selected studies remained diverse in scope, methodology, and focus, reinforcing the rationale for adopting a scoping review approach [34]. Given the review focus, there were no specific parameters, nor were studies to be analysed regarding the quality of their methodological approach due to the variety and diversity of research encompassing PCS in soccer [31]. Moreover, a formal paper-by-paper critical quality assessment was not undertaken as this is not a key component of scoping reviews [35,39]. Table 3 provides an overview of the reviewed publications.
Analysis
A narrative analysis was employed to synthesise and interpret the findings from the included studies, identifying patterns, themes, and key messages within the literature on PCS in soccer-specific environments with applications for TD and its practitioners. This approach was particularly appropriate given the diversity of methodologies, terminologies, and frameworks used in PCS research, allowing for a structured yet flexible examination of how these skills have been investigated and applied within the time frame examined. The narrative analysis provided a qualitative framework to compare findings, assess trends, and highlight inconsistencies within the literature. Studies were categorised into key themes, including visual search behaviours, cognitive capabilities, performance, and methodological approaches. This process facilitated a deeper understanding of how PCS research has evolved, to what extent findings have been applied to TD contexts, and where gaps remain between research and practice. Informed recommendations were then developed by the research team with the view to better support integration of research to practice.
Results and discussion
The aim of the review was to analyse the extent and nature of research conducted on PCS in soccer-specific environments, with applications focussed on TD contexts or applied practitioners since 2003. This section discusses the themes and sub-themes (Table 4) generated from the narrative analysis (visual search behaviours, cognitive capabilities, performance, and methodologies), providing avenues for future research to enhance both research directions and applied practice [1].
Visual search behaviours
Scanning.
Visual search comprises of scan frequency, scan excursion, and fixation locations [40], influencing a player’s ability to make informed, goal-directed decisions under pressure. 31 of the 55 studies reviewed examined visual search behaviour through varying terminology (gaze strategies, scanning, visual attention, exploration activity). Scanning (an active head movement away from the ball to gather information in preparation for engaging with the ball) [41] is an important component of perceptual-cognitive expertise and a players visual search strategy, with direct implications for TD in soccer. Scanning has typically been measured through observational methods [41–47], due to the simplicity, cost effectiveness, and ecological validity [48], providing insights into the frequency and locations of visual search behaviours of professional/elite performers whilst being able to link them more specifically to performance variable outcomes [36,49]. Visual search analysis from live competition shows relationships between scanning frequency and location prior to receiving the ball and positive outcomes such as forward movements, body orientation, successful and more impactful passes, and turns out of pressure [42,44–47,50–52]. Furthermore, contextual variables such as playing position, pitch location, possession status, pressure on player-in-possession, time remaining, as well as team situation (winning, losing, drawing), impact scanning behaviours [41,45]. This provides the truest representation of visual search behaviours because of the environment players are exercising such skills [42,44,53].
Given that decision-making speed and accuracy are fundamental to performance given the highly dynamic nature of soccer, scanning behaviours could serve as a critical marker for assessing and developing perceptual expertise in young players. Thus, it is crucial to further develop research within in-situ contexts. Adding further methodological sophistication to current approaches, such as coupling eye tracking methodologies with observational analysis, may prove worthwhile. As Aksum et al., [51] highlights, 11 vs. 11 in-situ games do not include many fixations (2.3%) when scanning, whilst there is a whole body of research highlighting the importance of fixation locations [27,54,55]. This discrepancy underscores the need for further exploration to ensure practitioners receive accurate guidance on the role and requirements of scanning behaviours in player assessment and development. To effectively integrate scanning into TD processes, standardised assessment protocols should be established, capturing both quantitative (e.g., frequency, duration) and qualitative (e.g., information extraction) aspects of scanning. Developing such frameworks will enhance the accuracy and applicability of perceptual-cognitive assessments, ultimately supporting practitioners in refining evaluation and development processes.
Participants in observational studies examining scanning behaviours include players from the Men’s and Women’s European Championships [43,52], U17-U19 Men’s European Championships [46], English Premier League (EPL; [41]), Eredivisie Dutch League [47], English (U17-U19; [45]), and Australian (U15-U17; [44]) boy’s youth academies, Swiss elite and grassroots women’s teams [49] as well as men’s semi-professional teams [42]. This broad range of levels has provided a comprehensive perspective of scanning behaviours in match scenarios. While these studies contribute valuable insights into how PCS are exercised in high performance environments, there remains a lack of research on visual search behaviours in younger age groups. Existing studies primarily examined players already competing at elite or near-elite levels, but little is known about how scanning behaviours emerge and develop in younger players during key developmental phases. Research in youth academies has focused on older age groups (e.g., U15-U19, where players are transitioning into professional environments), yet limited data exist on players aged U9-U14, a critical period for PCS acquisition and long-term skill development [56]. Future research should extend current research samples to explore scanning in more diverse developmental contexts. This would provide a more holistic understanding of how visual search behaviours evolve across levels, enabling practitioners in TD environments to implement age-appropriate training and assessment strategies. By identifying how scanning abilities progress from early development to professional levels, practitioners can better support players in refining scanning behaviours, ultimately enhancing long-term development outcomes [41,57].
Fixation behaviours.
Beyond scanning actions, fixation behaviours (i.e., what players are looking at) pre, concurrent, and post action-execution are crucial to understanding soccer player’s visual search capabilities [58]. Research suggests that basic visual function (e.g., visual acuity) does not distinguish skill levels across youth age groups [33], reinforcing the need to investigate how players use their gaze strategically rather than just their visual ‘hardware’. Advances in eye-tracking technology have enabled the precise measurement of fixation locations, durations, and gaze strategies across different in-game moments [59], providing valuable insights into how gaze strategies are utilised in players of varying abilities.
Representative task designs are commonly used to study fixation behaviours, incorporating key decision-making mechanisms under game representative conditions, whereby several key behavioural mechanisms have been determined [54,55,60,61]. Typically, these include temporal occlusion tasks, where players anticipate future events based on static or live images, responding via button presses [55,62,63], movement decisions [54], passing actions [27], or verbal reports [64]. In approaches utilising representative designs, time to first fixate on the ball and leg area have been shown to underpin successful anticipation and decision-making skills [54,55]. In offensive scenarios, fixating on the player-in-possession improves reaction times in low number overloaded attacking scenarios (2 vs. 1), yet when numbers increase (5 vs. 3) fixating on teammates who are closely marked improves reaction time and accuracy of decision [27]. This pattern continues in 11 vs. 11 scenarios, where players with high anticipation skills used significantly more fixations of shorter duration and toward greater number of locations [54,55]. Furthermore, highly creative players also employ a broader attentional focus towards more informative locations and in a different sequential order, whilst also detecting teammates in threatening positions earlier in the attacking scenario [40,64]. Overall, there is a strong understanding of key differences regarding visual search behaviours, where it appears that more fixations of shorter duration can improve anticipation and decision-making processes [28,65,66].
From the current understanding surrounding fixation behaviours, there are some direct implications for future TD research. Fixation behaviours appear to differentiate players based on position, age, skill level, and cognitive decision-making systems [28,65–69], while also being influenced by high physical workloads [70]. However, current research predominantly isolates visual search metrics, limiting our understanding of how scanning, fixation behaviours, and gaze strategies interact in real game situations. Progressing from the work of Aksum et al. [51], future research should explore the integrated relationship between scanning and fixation behaviours, enabling practitioners in TD environments to better understand how these skills develop and how training interventions can optimise perceptual-cognitive abilities in young players [71].
Peripheral vision.
Peripheral vision enables players to detect information in the visual field outside the limits of central/foveal vision (≈99% visual field; [72,73]). Given the dynamic nature of soccer, players cannot always rely on scanning behaviours to gather visual information [22,74]. Verbal reports (verbalised mental thoughts) following 3 vs. 3 scenarios indicates highly skilled soccer players actively monitor opposition and teammates actions via peripheral vision, suggesting its role in anticipation and decision-making [29]. While interest on the importance of developing peripheral vision in soccer is increasing [75,76] there is limited literature support to guide TD practitioners. The focus remains on what players can see and interpret within their direct field of view. There is a pressing need to explore how peripheral vision information processing can be developed within TD environments and how its role in can be enhanced through effective practice designs [76,77]. Future research should seek to integrate peripheral vision training into structured development programmes, ensuring that practitioners can assess and train these underdeveloped yet potentially crucial PCS [76].
Cognitive capabilities
Decision-making and anticipation.
Decision-making in soccer has traditionally been subdivided into accuracy and speed [78–80], with anticipatory abilities influencing speed [22]. Professional soccer players make faster and a greater number of decisions both in and out of possession [81]. At youth levels, players exhibit different decision-making speeds both between and within ages at academy level [82], but no differences in accuracy between the same ages [83], where those exhibiting higher technical skills make more accurate decisions within age groups [61] and is independent of anticipatory skills [60]. Video-based decision-making tasks have been effective in distinguishing levels of decision-making among youth athletes [84], where Machado et al., [85] suggests there are differences in decision-making quality and time for those selected and not selected in youth development systems, highlighting the importance of understanding decision-making behaviours. To deepen our understanding, better integrating environmental constraints (i.e., time, pressure) to examine the impact of decision-making capabilities is required to provide further context to our understanding [86], where small-sided games approaches have been recently trialled [87]. This, in turn, will support TD environments where coaches can develop aspects such as practice design and coaching interventions more effectively to improve decision-making development alongside the current understanding of differences in high versus low performing athletes [88–90].
Advancements in research are moving towards a more integrated approach, uncovering the interactions between various PCS components. Specifically, anticipation and decision-making efficiency are influenced by saccadic eye movements (ballistic movements between fixations) and visual search strategies [55,60]. Higher-skilled players tend to make use of more fixations of shorter duration, targeting more task-relevant locations in a different sequential order than lower-skilled players [27,64]. Although this knowledge is beneficial for TD purposes, understanding whether TD practitioners themselves recognise the integrated links between refined visual search behaviours, anticipation, and decision-making could help researchers assess how well current findings are being translated into real-world coaching contexts [37], allowing tailored research approaches based on practitioner knowledge.
Perception-action coupling.
Pairing cognition with motor-execution in applied soccer environments is fundamental for coaches designing sessions to facilitate improvements in motor performance [37]. Research has primarily focused on decision-making and anticipation in isolation, helping practitioners understand the differences between higher and lower skilled athletes [55,60,82,83,91]. However, to better understand the link between perception and action, there is a need to connect stimulus recognition speed, accuracy, and decision-making speed, as well as motor-execution; the antecedents to the action are required to achieve a more accurate perception-action coupling appreciation [92]. More information of whether enhanced PCS improves speed, weight, and accuracy of the pass, change of direction, the distance a player gains from their opposition when receiving a pass, or the number of touches required prior to a successful shot on goal are examples of the more in-depth information surrounding PCS execution that future research may need to explore to increase practitioner (i.e., coaches) buy-in, providing relevant and actionable insights.
Representative task designs have already demonstrated value in bridging the gap between laboratory findings and applied practice. However, a more comprehensive understanding of perception-action coupling within the applied soccer environment is necessary to fully optimise TD processes [93]. If coaches better understand the role of PCS in real-game scenarios, where players’ skills are tested under game-specific demands, they will be better equipped to design training sessions that foster perceptual-cognitive development, leading to a more effective transfer of research into practice [37,94–96]. Moreover, retrospective verbal reports and ‘think aloud’ strategies [60,97] could be valuable tools for enhancing perception-action coupling in applied settings, offering insights into the cognitive processes behind motor execution and further supporting coach education in TD contexts [98].
Performance
Game applications.
Successful soccer performance is often associated with various metrics such as successful passes, goals scored, tackles won, distance covered etc. [99–101]. Research on visual scanning behaviours and the relationship with performance metrics in 11 vs. 11 game formats has made significant strides in supporting TD practitioners [45]. However, the concept of performance in soccer is multifaceted and has been explored in various contexts within the PCS domain. These include passing performance following augmented feedback [102], 2 vs. 2 performance after pressure training interventions [103], eye function performance [33], decision-making performance linked to visual search strategies across different game contexts [27,61], and creative performance mechanisms utilising representative task designs [40,64] or novel training approaches [104]. Understanding performance in competition is crucial for providing practitioners a lens on current player capabilities and remains an area that requires further exploration. There is a significant distinction between performance in test settings and performance in soccer competition. To enhance TD processes, it is important to bridge this gap by demonstrating the real-world impact of enhanced PCS on match outcomes. By clearly linking perceptual-cognitive development to on-field performance, practitioners will be better equipped to integrate research findings into practical training environments and optimise player development [105].
Skill execution.
The Expert Performance Approach aims to understand how expert performers acquire/refine skills across different sports and other domains [106]. Sport specific PCS literature examined differences between high and low performers and the mechanisms that underpin these differences due to the acceptance of differences in motor capabilities, thus there are likely differences in their PCS [107–109]. Currently, there is no literature that has examined any key developmental milestones of PCS expertise. Therefore, it becomes difficult for practitioners to identify what mechanisms develop, at what rates and in which order that enable individuals to become experts in adulthood. Using a combination of both laboratory- and field-based approaches would be advantageous to gain a greater understanding of how soccer players PCS performance is impacted, and what could be done from an applied perspective to develop such mechanisms. As there is currently limited information on PCS development, TD practitioners face challenges in systematically tracking or intervening in these areas [17]. Without a clearer understanding of PCS progression, practitioners strategies may risk being built on assumptions rather than evidence-based frameworks [110]. It is also noteworthy that there remains an inconsistency in classifying a ‘skilled’ (particularly high and low) or ‘elite’ athlete, which will ultimately shape the conclusions made if only examining either ends of the performance spectrum [111].
Methodologies: Research designs
Task designs.
Representative task designs, such as video and image-based occlusion, combined with interactive methodologies, have enhanced our understanding of how to develop PCS knowledge in soccer [112]. These designs aim to simulate perception-action coupling within game-based scenarios, where with the support of high technology equipment, has provided standardised and repeatable conditions; facilitating greater insights into the mechanisms that underpin successful PCS in soccer [113,114]. Such tasks sacrifice ecological validity in favour of more reliable data, remaining the dominant approach in the field. However, these designs often fail to replicate the dynamic and complex nature of in-situ tasks, such as those encountered in real match scenarios [37]. For example, most visual search fixation behaviour research has been conducted in laboratory settings, making it difficult (even with applied recommendations), for practitioners to assess its direct applicability to real-world soccer performance. Such tests are also lacking correlation between in-situ performance values provided by coaches across multiple 3 vs. 3 scenarios and measures of anticipation, decision-making, and pattern recall measured through typical task designs [80]. This highlights a gap in the research and suggests that more in-situ measures are needed (or upskilling of coaches), an area where studies remain relatively limited [41,42,44,45]. Developing in-situ assessments would significantly enhance the practical applicability of this research area, allowing TD practitioners to better understand how PCS function in real-game contexts. By bridging this gap, practitioners would be in a stronger position to design more effective training interventions and assessment tools for player development.
Technological advancements.
Technology has the potential to bridge the science-to-application gap within TD contexts, offering practitioners a better balance between subjective and objective data [115]. For example, mobile eye tracking technology has enhanced our understanding of gaze and scanning strategies, allowing a distinguishment between high- and low-skilled athletes [116,117]. The primary aim is to utilise technological advancements to achieve a better understanding of what players experience, read and respond to during a game of soccer, where the intensity is higher and the players approach to the game is different due a variety of contributing factors (e.g., psychological; motivation, anxiety etc.) that will be interacting and exercised simultaneously [118–121]. As stated previously, Aksum et al., [51] provided the most significant integration of eye tracking technology within live settings to date, collecting data from four players using eye tracking glasses during 11 vs. 11 matches. This approach should be expanded to other contexts to further our understanding of fixation behaviours in players and improve the data quantity available for making more robust conclusions.
A further promising development is the use of virtual reality (VR) technology, where speed, decisions and actions are more representative than before whilst providing greater reliability and the feeling of immersion within a real-life experience [122,123]. Though not perfect due to extraneous variables and inconsistencies of contextual variables the game of soccer provides, it is a positive step for TD programmes to consider [124]. For example, Soccer Bot 3600 technology facilitates greater game representation, with 360-degree environments, multiple task formats and diverse stimuli [125]. However, it currently lacks sophistication without the users ability to influence the situation being presented in any way, decoupling perception and action [114]. As VR technology continues to evolve, there is a compelling reason to explore its applications within TD settings to determine if, and how, it can support practitioners. This integration will require careful consideration of the balance between reliability and validity in the measurements taken, as trade-offs between these factors will inevitably exist in any research or practical setting.
Methodologies: Sporting context and participants
Coaches.
Coaches play a central role in TD processes (alongside varying input on TI), as their knowledge, abilities, and behaviours have a significant impact on player development [126,127]. Although there is a developing body of research regarding players PCS which coaches can interpret and utilise, there is a lack of research with those directly responsible for identifying and developing PCS. Coaches’ conceptualisations of decision-making, visual exploratory activity and creativity [128–131] have become clearer, alongside understanding coaching approaches in professional academies surrounding time spent in decision-making activities [14,132,133]. Although coaches appear to be spending more time in decision-making practices, they are not currently optimising coaching styles and interventions to elicit these abilities [91,129,134]. This gap is influenced by coaches’ perceptions of PCS, their level of experience, and their qualification status, all of which impact coaches engagement developing visual exploratory activities and subsequent decision-making capabilities during training sessions [130,131,135].
While research has made positive strides in understanding coaches’ perceptions of specific PCS, it remains limited in scope. The identification, monitoring, and development of PCS in athletes are crucial for coaches, as they are the primary individuals who need to translate sport-specific knowledge into actionable practices [136,137]. Further exploration of how coaches’ perceptions of PCS align with the coaching practices they currently deliver could help better link knowledge of PCS and applied practice. Investigating how coaches identify and assess PCS in athletes may help refine current practices and improve their application in real-world settings. If coaches are unable to identify PCS, they may struggle to develop them effectively [98,138].
Scouts.
Within TI contexts, the primary role of a soccer scout is to identify youth players with high potential, a task that is complex and challenging [139]. Traditional approaches to TI include reliance on physical attributes, and scouts must be able to overcome their unconscious biases to assess potential, incorporating a players PCS, which does not necessarily present as clear, observable behaviours [140,141]. Currently, there is limited understanding of how scouts specifically identify PCS, making it difficult to assess how effectively they incorporate these skills into their evaluations. Clarifying how scouts measure and identify these abilities could provide valuable insights for practitioners, enhancing their understanding of the factors that currently contribute to TI.
It is also important to examine whether scouts’ evaluations are still influenced by factors like chance events (e.g., relative age effect [16]) or physical skills [142], or if increased awareness of performance predictors has shifted their priorities toward more holistic skill assessments [143]. Although we know which skills scouts and coaches typically prioritise in TI and the agreed importance of PCS [143,144], the practical translation of this knowledge into their assessment processes remains unclear [144]. Mobile eye tracking technology offers an opportunity to explore the visual search strategies that underpin scouts’ decision-making, alongside verbal reports on their evaluations of players. These insights could help refine the TI process by shedding light on the factors influencing identification decisions. Furthermore, decision-making assessment tools are being developed to support scouts in their evaluations, but these tools still require further PCS refinement before full integration into TI settings [145,146].
Players.
PCS in soccer have been examined across a wide range of player contexts, including adult and youth athletes, male and female players, and individuals of varying skill levels, experience, and competition standards. A common approach has been to compare high-skilled and less-skilled players to identify key differentiating factors. However, the PCS of players throughout specific TD pathways is less clear. For example, previous studies examining PCS in high performing soccer players have recorded data from players within English Premier League academies (category one) to explore areas of PCS expertise [33,83,104]. However, whether there are differences in youth academies further down the TD pyramid in England (e.g., category two or three) would be beneficial to understand if PCS are a substantial differentiating factor of players in the top tier academies, or if there are differences in identification or developmental processes from clubs at the top of the developmental pyramid versus further down. Providing data or tools that can demonstrate any clear PCS differences (building from Bennett et al., [145]) may then allow for improved recommendations for key stakeholders (e.g., academy manager, head of coaching) who make decisions on club policies and practices regarding TD.
Female soccer.
Soccer continues to be one of the most popular female sports worldwide [147], with its popularity rising exponentially (i.e., live/tv attendance; professionalisation etc. [148]). Consequently, professional female soccer clubs and nations are advancing their TD processes. For example, in England, professional female clubs are now advancing their talent pathways similar to, and in line with, the men’s pathways, with new structures providing up to 70 Emerging Talent Centres (ETC) allowing 95 per cent of players access to an ETC within one hour of where they live by 2024 and the number of young female players engaged in FA talent programmes across the country rising from 1,722 to more than 4,200 by the end of the 2023−24 season [149]. While the scientific literature on female soccer is gradually expanding [150], much of the soccer-specific research on PCS and TD has focused predominantly on male players. Studies examining TI between 1999 and 2019 show that only 14% of these studies focused solely on female participants [151]. While the proportion of PCS focused studies involving female athletes has increased, especially from 2020 onward [49,52,63,104,152], the need for more female-specific research remains. Extrapolating findings from male soccer to female players may lead to erroneous conclusions [153], as was previously noted from a technical perspective [154]. Given that the technical components of female athletes may differ, it is crucial that the same level of research curiosity is given to the PCS of female athletes. Investigating these components in female athletes will be essential for developing tailored and effective TD practices.
Limitations and future directions
This review is not without its limitations. Firstly, we only included English language, peer-reviewed studies. Excluding non-English studies may influence sample characteristics (e.g., location) and lead to the omission of potential correlates that may be of cultural significance [155]. Yet, some evidence suggests that limiting our search to studies published in English may not always be ample to impact review findings [156]. Furthermore, a general weakness of scoping reviews concerns the lack of quality assessment of the included studies [155].
Based on the findings of the scoping review, several key areas emerged for future research that will further the fields understanding of PCS in soccer, particularly within TD contexts. These recommendations are designed to address the current gaps in knowledge and refine the practical applications of PCS. Each recommendation outlines a specific focus that could improve the identification, assessment, and development of PCS for youth athletes, guiding future research efforts:
- Incorporate practitioners in TD contexts: Research should examine the roles of coaches, scouts, and other practitioners in identifying, monitoring, and assessing PCS in youth soccer players. Understanding how these stakeholders conceptualise PCS and integrate them into their practices will provide valuable insights into the real-world application of research findings and facilitate the adoption of evidence-based practices within TD environments.
- Bridge the gap between representative task designs and real-world performance: While current research has made valuable contributions through representative task designs, further research is needed to connect these controlled settings with real-life scenarios. Future studies should focus on examining PCS during match play, using field-based methodologies, to understand how skills such as anticipation, decision-making, and gaze strategies manifest in high-pressure, dynamic environments. This will help to ensure that research findings are more ecologically valid and relevant for applied contexts.
- Implement developmental monitoring of PCS in TD processes: Longitudinal studies that track the development of PCS across different age groups and stages of player development are currently absent. Understanding how PCS evolve over time in response to training, competition, and maturation will allow for more tailored development programmes and more sophisticated identification capabilities. These studies should investigate how PCS impact performance trajectories, helping to identify athletes with high potential earlier in the development pathway.
- Examine the interaction between different PCS and their interdependencies: Further research is needed to explore how various PCS (e.g., decision-making, anticipation, visual search, etc.) interact with one another within in-situ contexts. Investigating how deficits in one area may influence performance in other PCS domains could provide a more nuanced understanding of how to address weaknesses and optimise player development. This will also help to develop more comprehensive interventions that target multiple PCS in a coordinated manner.
- Expand research to include diverse player groups: Much of the current research on PCS has focused on male players, but it is essential to explore how these skills manifest in the women’s game and across all TD age categories and levels. Research should aim to identify any gender-specific differences in PCS and understand how the developmental needs of female players differ from those of male players. Additionally, studies should examine players at various stages of their development, from youth to professional levels, to ensure that PCS training is adapted to the changing demands of players as they mature.
Conclusion
This scoping review provides an original contribution to the growing body of research on PCS in soccer, offering a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge in soccer-specific contexts. By synthesising key findings across a range of studies, this review identified critical gaps in the literature and highlights the need for further research to advance the identification, monitoring and development of PCS in youth athletes. While there has been notable progress in understanding the role of PCS in differentiating high and low skilled, significant gaps remain, particularly in terms of how these skills can be effectively identified, assessed, and developed through applied practices. To move the field forward, future research should focus on better defining the underlying mechanisms of PCS and how these skills can be reliably measured in applied settings, as well as exploring how training interventions can improve these skills in youth players. Additionally, a more nuanced understanding of how TD practitioners perceive and integrate PCS into their practice is essential for bridging the gap between theory and practice. As PCS expertise plays a pivotal role in soccer performance, addressing these gaps will enhance development processes and strategies, ultimately improving the overall quality of players emerging from TD systems.
Supporting information
S1 Table. PRISMA-ScR checklist (Tricco et al., 2018).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327721.s001
(DOCX)
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