How to Play

A quick guide to squad building, matchday controls, fitness, and the knockout bracket. No account or download required — play in your browser.

Getting started

From nation pick to kick-off in four steps.

Team Select — choose your country (formation is set on the next screen).
Squad — fill all 11 starting slots, pick a formation, then select a tactic.
Auto-fill — confirm Best XI from the prefill menu; you’ll scroll to tactics to choose your style.
Start Tournament — once the XI is complete, begin the group stage from the tournament hub.

How your lineup affects performance.

Tap each pitch slot to pick any outfield player — natural positions perform best; out-of-position picks show a rating penalty.
Tactics boost certain roles (e.g. wingers under counter-attack, midfielders under possession).
Traits match real roles: Poacher (finish), Playmaker (create), Marshal (defend), Pacey (counter), and more.
During the tournament you can edit squad and tactics, but formation stays locked.

Tip: Check the tactic impact panel while building your XI — traits and tactics preview side by side.

Stamina carries over between matches.

Every player has a Fit % — starters and subs drain while on the pitch; bench players who never come on keep their fitness.
After each match, played players recover partially. High physical ratings recover more; tired legs may not return to 100%.
Make half-time subs (up to 5) — fresh legs help in the second half, especially if they’re well rested.
The Active Squad panel on the tournament screen shows fitness and average match ratings — rotate before knockout games.

Tip: If several starters are below 75% Fit, swap one or two before the next matchday.

Live match controls and what to watch for.

Pre-match — review both XIs, fitness, traits, and make lineup changes if needed.
Live — commentary reveals events in real time. Pause, skip to half-time, or skip to full time.
Half-time — use Sub on a starter, then In on a bench player. Tired players show a lower Fit %.
Red cards suspend a player for the next match. Injuries sideline them — you’ll see an alert on the tournament screen to pick replacements.

Tip: Scores and stats always match the live timeline — extra time and penalties are included in knockouts.

Groups, knockouts, and elimination.

Group stage — 3 matchdays. Top two in each group qualify, plus the 8 best third-placed teams (32 total).
Knockouts — single elimination from the Round of 32 through to the final.
Semi-final winners reach the final. Semi-final losers play the third-place playoff only.
Suspended or injured players are removed from your XI — a squad alert appears on the tournament hub until you fill every slot.

When the tournament ends.

Win the final to become tournament champions — or follow the bracket if you’re knocked out early.
Share Tournament Report creates a unique link with your results, matches, and top scorers.
Use Play Again from the header flow to start a new nation and squad.

Tip: Open Help anytime from the header if you need a refresher.

You can also open the full in-game guide from the Help button in the site header.