5 Fun Soccer Games To Play With Friends
You don’t need to be at practice to practice soccer. You just need a soccer ball and friends to play with! You don’t even need to play soccer! There are lots of fun games that you can play with friends that also help you practice your soccer skills, at the same time. Here are our Top 5 fun soccer games to play with friends.
Related: 7 Fun Soccer Warm Up Games For Kids / Drills To Practice Soccer At Home
Soccer Games To Play With Friends
1. World Cuppies
World Cuppies, or ‘Wembley doubles’ as is known in the UK, is the ultimate pick-up game that you can play with your friends. You can play before practice, after practice, in the park, in the playground, or at any place or time that you have a group of friends to play with. All you need is a soccer ball and something to make a goal with (go old school and just put some use sweatshirts or jackets for goalposts).
How To Play
To play World Cuppies (Wembley Doubles), first one person goes in goal and everyone else partners up in teams of two. Teams compete for possession of the ball and try to score in a singular goal. As soon as a team scores, they are through to the next round. Now all they have to do is move off to the side and marvel at their initial success.
Meanwhile, the remaining players go again until all but one of the teams is through to the next round. That last team is, unfortunately, out. No one said life (or World Cuppies) was easy!
The teams who made it through to the next round play again and the process is repeated until there is a winning team. After that, one of the winning players goes in goal, new teams are picked, and the game starts again.
2. Soccer Tennis
The great thing about soccer tennis is that you only need one friend to play it with. If you can find a tennis court to play soccer tennis, great. But if you can’t, it’s super easy to make your own by placing something in the middle to act as the tennis net. Once you have set up your ‘tennis court’, it’s time to play.
How To Play
To play soccer tennis, one player stands on one side of the court, and another player stands on the opposite side. Then, just like tennis, one player serves the ball over the net. Players can serve the ball out of their hands, but after that, they can only use their feet, thighs, chest, and head (like soccer).
After serving the ball, the player on the other side of the net must return the ball after just one bounce (or 2 bounces for beginner players). If the ball bounces more than once, or the player kicks the ball into the net, or out of bounds, then the other player gets a point. You can play ‘sets’ and ‘matches’ just like tennis, or just play up to, say, 10 points to determine the winner.
3. Wall-Y
One of the greatest soccer games ever that you can play with your friends for hours on end is Wall-Y. All you need is a wall, a soccer ball and, like soccer tennis, just one friend. So even I could play it if I could find a wall. And a friend. 🙁
Wall-Y, like all of these fun soccer games, is nice, easy, and a lot of fun to play with friends.
How To Play
To play Wall-Y, both players should start approximately 5-yards in front of the wall. The first player has one touch to strike the ball and hit the wall. The second player also gets one touch to hit the wall. Then, it’s the first player’s turn again, and so on and so forth. The only other rule is the ball can’t stop moving at any point. If a player misses or the ball stops moving, the offending player gets a letter; first W, then A, etc., until you spell out Wall-Y. That player loses, the other one wins, and you start again!
4. Bar-Y
Here’s another fun one that will keep you and your friends playing until the sun goes down! Like Wall-Y, and Soccer Tennis, all you need for this game is two friends and a soccer ball. You’ll also need a soccer goal of any size that has a crossbar and no net. You should be able to find one at your local park.
How To Play
So, you’ve got a crossbar, a ball, and you are with your friend. So, what do you do next? Basically, one of you stands on one side of the crossbar, and one of you stands on the other. The person with the ball takes a maximum of three touches and has to try and hit the crossbar with the ball. If the ball hits the bar and comes back, you get 1 point and another turn. If it misses, it’s your partner’s turn (the ball is likely on the other side already, but if it’s not, pass it over). If the ball hits the bar but still goes to the other side, you still get 1 point, but it’s now your partner’s turn. Play the first to 21, and if the sun has not gone down, play again!
5. Heads And Volleys
Have we left the best until last? Yes, we have. Heads and Volleys is THE all-time best soccer game to play with friends. It involves competition, cooperation, and (surprise surprise) some heads and volleys.
How To Play
To play Heads and Volleys, one player starts in goal with 11 lives. All the other players start as outfield players with ten lives each. The outfield players should try and kick the ball in the air to other players so that they can score a goal with a head or a volley.
If someone scores, the goalkeeper loses a life. If someone misses, or the goalkeeper catches the ball, the person who took the shot becomes the goalkeeper. Once a player loses all their lives, they are out and (usually) have to do a fun forfeit to the amusement of everyone else.
Thanks for reading. I hope you and your friends have lots of fun playing these soccer games together. Before you go, be sure to check out our free soccer drills for some more ideas and games to practice soccer.