Entry Status Matters: A Case Study on Running Performance Profiles of Starters and Substitutes in the Initial 15 Min of Professional Football Matches

This study investigated differences in running performance between starters and substitutes during their first 15 min of match play in professional football. The investigation was designed as a retrospective observational study. A time–motion analysis was conducted on one professional football team from the Swiss Challenge League during the 2023–2024 season. The first 15 min of players’ match participation were analyzed and divided into three 5 min periods. Running performance variables included total distance covered (TDC), high-speed running (HSR; 19.8–25.2 km·h−1), and sprint distance (>25.2 km·h−1) using GPS technology. Statistical analyses were performed using paired t-tests and repeated-measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc corrections. Starters covered significantly greater TDC than substitutes over the 15 min period (p = 0.002), driven by higher values in the 5–10 min and 10–15 min epochs (p = 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). No between-group differences were observed for HSR and sprint distance. Within-group analyses revealed a significant decline in TDC during the 10–15 min epoch compared with earlier intervals for both starters and substitutes (p < 0.001 and p = 0.02, respectively). Substitutes also exhibited a reduction in distance covered at HSR after the initial 0–5 min period (p = 0.02). Starters face higher TDC demands than substitutes in the opening 15 min, although HSR and sprint distance remain stable. The results indicate that starters covered greater TDC than substitutes during the first 15 min of play; however, no significant differences were found in HSR and sprint distance between the two conditions.