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Game guide
Soccer World Cup is an arcade soccer game built around a full World Cup knockout. Pick one of 32 national teams and fight through a randomly drawn bracket from the round of 32 to the final. Matches play two accelerated 45-minute halves with throw-ins, corner kicks, free kicks and penalties, a best-of-five shoot-out settles draws, and every goal earns an instant replay.
Actual gameplay
Objective and input
Tap PLAY, cycle through the national teams with PREV and NEXT, then hit PLAY CUP to enter the bracket - or PRACTICE for a free kick-about with only your squad on the pitch. Each round draws your next opponent at random; win to advance, lose and you head home. On the pitch you always control the player nearest the ball: press and hold, drag to send him running, then release to pass or shoot toward the release point. Matches run on a fast clock - 90 minutes in about three real minutes - and a draw goes to penalties.
The game's own controls screen says: click and hold the mouse, drag to direct your player, then release to shoot - and the farther you drag, the harder and higher the kick. Desktop wording comes from the bundle's control text and was not separately playtested.
Press and hold your thumb on the pitch and drag - the selected player runs toward your thumb for as long as you hold.
Release to kick toward the release point: a short drag plays a soft pass, a long drag strikes a harder, higher ball.
You always steer the player closest to the ball - look for the moving marker under his feet.
What stands out
Pick any of 32 national teams and survive a randomly drawn bracket - five wins from the round of 32 to the trophy.
Throw-ins, corners, goal kicks, free kicks and penalty kicks all apply, and drawn matches finish with a best-of-five penalty shoot-out.
Hold and drag to run your player, release to pass or shoot - longer drags strike the ball harder and higher.
Every team carries its own strength rating that sets player speed and kicking accuracy, so Brazil genuinely plays differently to Belgium.
Useful guidance
Release early for a short pass - the kick's power and height grow with the distance between your player and the release point.
Keep holding through a sprint and release at the last moment: your player follows your thumb as long as it stays down.
Check the ratings when picking your team - higher-rated national sides run faster and strike more accurately.
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