The psychological characteristics behind talented soccer players: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Soccer performance depends on a long-term process, with the psychological characteristics of young talented players being influential. This meta-analytic review synthesizes research that examined the psychological factors associated with talented soccer players, providing guidance for future studies. This study asked whether psychological factors are associated with future talent-like performance in young football players. We identified 4,015 records by searching PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Of the 1,511 records screened, only 12 studies were included, as they were designed to be longitudinal and covered 3,748 players across recreational to elite levels. Risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies, and certainty of evidence was judged with the GRADE framework. The findings suggest that greater values of achievement motive correlated positively with future talent-like performance; however, the pooled effect size was merely trivial (g = 0.198, 95% CI: 0.003-0.378) and heterogeneity was large (I ² = 78.5%), likely reflecting differences in measurement tools, sample characteristics, and performance indicators. No other psychological construct could be meta-analysed due to insufficient and heterogeneous data, and overall certainty of evidence for all outcomes was rated very low. Other psychological characteristics such as mental toughness, grit, and resilience may play a functional role in talent development, but their isolated prognostic value for future performance appears small, inconsistent, and highly sensitive to methodological choices. In the future psychological factors should therefore not be used as standalone criteria for talent selection or deselection, but rather integrated within multidimensional, longitudinal assessment frameworks rather than solely cross-sectional designs, that combine technical, tactical, physical, and contextual information. Systematic review registration: 10.17605/OSF.IO/J4EPT.