The tactical and physical demands of a soccer game are of interest to coaches and trainers for better prescription of the physical training process and understanding of the game's demands. When discussing the demands for games played by base categories, information is scarce. In this study, we will investigate correlations between physical and tactical variables of under-17 soccer players who competed in the 2019 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

The objective of the present study was to analyze and associate the variables of physical performance (total distance covered) and technical performance (ball possession, number of passes, shots on goal, compaction with the ball and compaction without the ball) of male soccer players during the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Were analyzed 24 national teams participating in the under-17 football world cup, held in 2019. We selected from the technical report, accessed from the official website of the competition (www.fifa.com). Pearson's correlation test (r) was used to describe the association between variables. The correlation coefficient was classified as follows: 0.0 – 0.1 (trivial), >0.1 – 0.3 (minor), >0.3 – 0.5 (moderate), >0.5 – 0.7 (large), >0.7 – 0.9 (very large), and >0.9 – 1.0 (almost perfect). All procedures were performed in IBM SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics – Version 20.0).

The total average distance covered during the competition was between 106 and 121 km per match. The average ball possession for each team was 36 – 61% per game. There were between 315 and 588 passes and 6 – 24 shots on goal per match. The average compaction per match with ball possession was between 708 and 1081 meters², and without ball possession was 500 – 744 meters². Correlations classified as 'very large' were observed between possession of the ball and passes (r= 0.814), 'great' between total distance and compaction without the ball (r= -0.599) and passes and compaction without the ball (r= -0.555), 'small' between total distance and possession of the ball (r= 0.219), total distance and compaction with the ball (r= -0.103) and passes and compaction with the ball (r= -0.254) and 'trivial' between total distance and shots a goal (r = -0.075) and possession and compaction without the ball (r = -0.001).

It was observed that the exchange of passes is an important foundation for maintaining possession of the ball, exploring spaces on the field of play and reducing physical demand.

Coaches and trainers can develop the physical capabilities of players to serve as a basis for executing technical and tactical demands. Thus, based on our results, we suggest that technicians and trainers search for means and methods of physical and tactical training that are more efficient for the age group in question. In this way, players will be able to fulfill their duties during the game, pass with greater possibilities of reaching the goal and finish on goal when they are better positioned. The choice of this strategy will make it possible to improve the performance of the team/players during matches during the competition.