Body temperature and physical performance responses are not maintained at the time of pitch-entry when typical substitute-specific match-day practices are adopted before simulated soccer match-play

Abstract Objectives To profile performance and physiological responses to typical patterns of match-day activity for second-half soccer substitutes. Design Descriptive. Methods Following a warm-up, 13 male team sports players underwent ∼85 min of rest, punctuated with five min rewarm-ups at ∼25, ∼50, and ∼70 min, before ∼30 min of simulated soccer match-play. Countermovement jump performance (jump height, peak power output), alongside 15 m sprints, were assessed post-warm-up, and pre- and post-simulated match-play. Core temperature, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, and blood glucose and lactate concentrations were measured throughout. Results Warm-up-induced core temperature elevations (∼2.3%, +0.85 °C; p  Conclusions At the point of simulated pitch-entry, body temperature and physical performance responses were not maintained from warm-up cessation despite typical substitute-specific match-day practices being employed in thermoneutral conditions. Evidence of performance-limiting fatigue was absent during ∼30 min of simulated match-play. These data question the efficacy of practices typically implemented by substitutes before pitch-entry.