The Ten Performance Pillars: An evidence-informed expert statement for teams preparing for the FIFA Men's World Cups and elite international tournaments

Chmura, P, Nassis, GP, Castagna, C, Mohr, M, Carling, C, Randers, MB, Wei, X, Fahrenholtz, IL, Oliva-Lozano, JM, Webb, J, Datson, N, Olthof, S ORCID: 0000-0002-7660-8448, Arslan, E, Nakamura, FY, Sarmento, H, Sun, F, Li, Y, Praça, GM, Czarniecki, S, Altmann, S et al (2026) The Ten Performance Pillars: An evidence-informed expert statement for teams preparing for the FIFA Men's World Cups and elite international tournaments. Football Studies, 2. p. 100059. ISSN 3051-2689

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Abstract

Expanded FIFA Men’s World Cups place increasing demands on national football (soccer) teams, with additional teams, extended knockout stages, compressed schedules, extensive travel, and extreme environmental challenges. The question arises: can peak performance still be sustained under these tournament conditions? These increased demands intensify physiological strain, as well as cognitive and tactical complexity, putting even the most prepared and well-resourced teams under pressure. This expert-informed statement presents a multidimensional roadmap to help navigate these challenges. It integrates scientific research and practical insights from elite football practitioners. We introduce the Integrated World Cup Performance Model, a conceptual framework built around three critical domains: physiological, neurocognitive, and tactical-collective. Applied considerations include the management of sleep, nutrition, hydration, fatigue, travel, substitutions, decision-making, and team cohesion. By raising awareness of what should be monitored and managed, the statement aims to provide actionable guidance for proactive decision-making, risk mitigation, and sustaining player readiness and performance. Embedded within the model, the Ten Performance Pillars are intended to help translate complex scientific evidence into daily practice, enabling teams to anticipate challenges and support recovery processes. In the context of the FIFA Men's World Cup, performance is not determined by isolated physical, tactical, or psychological factors. Success depends on the ability of national teams to integrate load management, physical and neurocognitive readiness, and collective resilience into a coherent, adaptive performance system throughout the tournament. This evidence-informed statement moves beyond isolated best practices by proposing a unified, decision-oriented framework explicitly designed for congested international tournaments. While providing a comprehensive and practically oriented framework, this statement is based on a structured expert-informed synthesis process rather than a systematic review or meta-analysis. Its implementation depends on national-team context, including cultural variability and disparities in financial, logistical, and staffing resources.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	42 Health Sciences; 4207 Sports Science and Exercise; Behavioral and Social Science; Generic health relevance; 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences; 4207 Sports science and exercise
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date of acceptance:	10 June 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	3 September 2026
Date Deposited:	03 Sep 2026 14:47
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2026 14:47
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.footst.2026.100059
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29315

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