Football is a constantly changing environment where players must anticipate, decide and act under pressure.
This study compared elite and sub-elite youth players (13–17 years) and found that elite players performed significantly better on higher-level cognitive functions, particularly inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility and metacognition.
Even when accounting for training hours and academic level, differences remained in inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility.
The findings reinforce the importance of executive functions in talent identification and player development within football.