This study investigated if the dribbling performance in sports of futsal and football depends on the defender`s reaction time (RT) or anticipation. Participants were futsal (n = 59) and football (n = 45) male players competing in Brazilian National and State amateur championships in 2020. One hundred and thirty dribbles (futsal, n = 77; football, n = 53) registered during official matches were selected for analysis. The beginning times of the defender\'s response above and below 200ms from the attacker\'s dribbling stimulus were used to define reaction time and anticipation, respectively. Successful dribbles are those in which the defender is not able to prevent the attacker in possession of the ball overtake him/her. On the other hand, unsuccessful dribbles are those in which the defensive player manages to prevent the attacker from overtaking him/her with possession of the ball. Results showed that reaction time and anticipation were not determining factors for successful and unsuccessful dribbling in the sport of futsal, respectively. However, reaction time results provided supporting evidence for explaining the successful dribbling in the sport of football. This finding suggests that to succeed in dribbling the attacker should try to delay the start of the defender\'s response.
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