How to warm up like a World Cup star: Expert guide

For elite athletes, the work done before kickoff is just as important as the match itself. A professional warm-up is essential to prime muscles, tendons, and ligaments, ensuring players can perform at their peak while guarding against injury from the first whistle.

James Redden, a performance coach who has worked with clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, has designed a 15-minute routine comprising five stages. He notes that the first two stages prioritize injury prevention, while the final three focus on performance. These stages must be completed sequentially to be effective.

The routine starts with floor-based mobility to unlock the hips and activate the glutes and hamstrings, which Redden identifies as the most common areas for football-related injuries. This is followed by single-leg stability exercises, which mimic the movements players use during accelerating, jumping, and changing direction on the pitch.

The third and fourth stages move to global lower-body activation and pitch-based drills. Using wall drives to master acceleration mechanics and lateral shuffles for directional changes, players prepare their bodies for game-specific intensity. Redden emphasizes that mastering the body position during these drills is key to effective movement.

The final section focuses on high-intensity acceleration and deceleration. Deceleration is described as one of the most aggressive movements for the body, and performing it correctly is crucial to avoid knee injuries. Ultimately, this structured warm-up ensures players are physically ready for the critical moments of a match.