The individual training history shapes soccer players’ ability to predict teammates’ and opponents’ moves

In sports, players constantly engage in understanding others’ actions and intentions. Previous studies have highlighted that possessing the observed action in the individual motor repertoire improves the prediction abilities of the observer. Here, we tested the extent to which players’ ability to predict soccer actions is influenced by their motor repertoire, which is modulated not only by their generic expertise but also by the specific position played on the field. To these aims, two experiments were conducted by asking players to predict the result of typical soccer actions and comparing accuracies with data concerning their soccer career. Results revealed that both general expertise and position-specific experience significantly impacted prediction performance, with the highest accuracy observed when actions aligned with players’ positional expertise. These findings highlight that the motor resonance mechanism is finely attuned to the individual’s motor repertoire, which operates as a continuum – from no experience to advanced expertise in a specific position – enabling a dynamic, experience-driven enhancement of action prediction in sports.