It’s easy to see why so many kids grow up wanting to be professional footballers. The idea of traveling the world, playing the sport you love, and making a great living out of it sounds like the perfect life. But what we don’t usually see when we watch them on TV is everything that happens behind the scenes just to stay at that level.

As the World Cup continues, discussions surrounding the physical demands on players who compete internationally immediately after a long and intense club season are everywhere. What is far less often acknowledged, however, is the mental fatigue that affects these players just as significantly.

The mental cost of competing

At the height of the World Cup, players were traveling, training, and playing matches every four to five days with far less preparation time than usual. A schedule like that is bound to take a heavy toll on anyone.

And the data highlights this toll very clearly. A study conducted by FIFPRO after the 2022 World Cup highlighted this exact crisis. During the World Cup, 20% of players reported feeling extreme mental fatigue, far surpassing the normal levels they typically experience during the height of the club season in January. On top of that 20%, the study found that another 23% of players reported heightened mental fatigue compared to their usual club season levels, though not to an extreme degree.

What happens when the brain runs out of battery?

While the club season is a marathon, the World Cup is a brutal sprint, and it’s your players who are suffering. Mental fatigue is clearly a widespread, serious issue among footballers. So, to all coaches, recruiters, and sports psychologists: listen up.

The more your players are mentally fatigued, the less they perform at their best.

One of the first things players lose when they become mentally fatigued is their decision-making. Think of it like a smartphone running on 1% battery. It still works, but everything takes just a little longer.

Mental fatigue doesn't make players forget how to pass. Instead, it slows down how quickly they process what's happening around them. They may still spot the open teammate, but by the time their brain tells them to play the pass, the opportunity has already disappeared. That's why even top players can suddenly make simple mistakes or choose the wrong option under pressure.

Interestingly, research shows that a fatigued player's vision isn't the problem. They still see the same opportunities as a well-rested player. The difference lies in the split second between seeing and acting. In football, that's often the difference between creating a chance and losing possession.

This is why what happens before match day matters. Long tactical meetings, excessive screen time, poor sleep, and chronic stress all drain the same mental energy players rely on during the game. If you want your team to make great decisions in the 90th minute, protecting their minds should be just as important as protecting their muscles.

But how to recharge the battery?

Some actions are already being taken within squads. Sports psychologists have become a standard part of national team setups. The English squad has been employing one since the mid-2010s, and their importance only grows with each year. They're usually focused on working with players on mindfulness, visualisation, and breathing exercises to deal with the accumulated pressure on the pitch or in the locker room. Also, recovery sessions after games increasingly include floatation tanks, progressive muscle relaxation, and well-being journals.

One of the more interesting recent developments is Brain Endurance Training, where clubs deliberately add cognitively demanding tasks to physical training to build the brain's tolerance the same way intense exercise prepares the body. Consistently, research finds that these approaches improve both cognitive performance and technical skills in fatigued players.

However, is that enough?

Louder are becoming the voices calling for structural change. FIFPRO, the global players' union, has launched legal proceedings against FIFA, arguing the flooded calendar violates players' basic labour rights. Their 2024/25 report found a growing number of elite players exceeding 69 to 70 matches per season, well above the union's recommended cap of 55. Under this pressure, there is no way even the best mental training can help the player stay at their peak level the whole time. FIFA announced reforms including a mandatory 72 hours' rest between matches and a 21-day break at the end of each season. Progress, but FIFPRO's own medical experts recommend a full 28-day recovery window, and even the new rules have proven hard to enforce.

The tools to manage mental fatigue are not complicated. They just require us to take rest as seriously as we take work. So whether you are on the pitch or behind the desk, the mental battery drains for all of us. The question is whether we permit ourselves to recharge it.