The purpose of this study was to develop criterion-referenced measurement items of penetration pass play in soccer games. Cause and effect analysis with the Delphi method was applied to construct a qualitative causal structure, measurement items, and achievement criteria of penetration pass play in soccer games. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze a second-order factor structured model of the penetration pass play. Item response theory (IRT) with the 2-parameter logistic model (2PLM) was applied to analyze the item and the test characteristics of penetration pass play items. The first-order factors of penetration pass skill in soccer consisted of through pass, positioning, unbalancing DFL (Defense line), and breaking DFL skills. The 16 items measuring penetration pass play showed construct validity. The item unidimensionality, goodness-of-fit to the item characteristic curve (ICC), invariance of estimated parameters and ability value, test reliability, validity and goodness-of-fit to the ICC were examined using IRT with 2PLM. The value of the estimated ability of the successful penetration pass group in the soccer game was 0.30 ± 0.79, which was significantly higher than the -0.45 ± 0.73 reported for the unsuccessful pass group. These results indicate that the criterion-referenced measurement items of penetration pass play in soccer games are valid.

The relative age effect (RAE) of Japanese national soccer players has not been examined to date. The purpose of this study was to examine the RAE of male and female Japanese national soccer players, targeting players who were called up to the Japanese national team from 2014 to 2020. The subjects were 241 national soccer players (143 male and 98 female). Even if they were called up to national team more than once, they were counted as one person. Among the Japanese male national soccer players, Q1 (January to March) was 31.5%, Q2 (April to June) was 22.4%, Q3 (July to September) was 20.3%, and Q4 (October to December) was 25.9%. As a result of the goodness-of-fit test, no significant difference was observed in the proportions of Q1 to Q4. Q1/Q4 was 1.22, and S1/S2 was 1.17. Among female national soccer players, Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 were 20.4%, 28.6%, 27.6%, and 23.5% respectively. No significant difference was observed in the proportions of Q1 to Q4. Q1/Q4 was 0.87, and S1/S2 was 0.96. We concluded that there is no RAE for Japanese national soccer players, whether men or women. Since the number of subjects is insufficient, it will be necessary to return to the analysis of the RAE of Japanese national soccer players in the future.

This study aimed to reveal variations in attacking tactics related to changes in the source of tries in top-level men's sevens rugby worldwide. Analysed 338 matches from the 2020 and 2024 seasons of the Men's World Rugby Sevens Series, comparing play frequency and attacking success between the seasons. Results revealed that tap kicks decreased in both average frequency per match and the percentage of play selections in penalty kicks (PKs). However, tap kicks that were restarted within 5 seconds increased, accounting for 60% of all tap kicks. In 2024, try rates significantly decreased when the restart time exceeded 10 seconds, a trend not observed in 2020. Conversely, scrums increased in average frequency per match and in the percentage of play selections in PKs. There was a higher priority for selecting scrums in PKs in the opposition's central area. Regarding attacking success, the percentage of attempts with one pass or fewer increased significantly for tries in the 1st-phase attack. Furthermore, during situations with numerical imbalances, scrums became significantly more frequent and were the primary source of tries for the team with more players, as indicated by the percentage of their try-scoring plays. The results suggest that in recent years, sevens rugby attacking strategies have been intended for situations when the team's defence is ineffective or unable to function.