Arcade · How to play

How to play Issa Goal

A football game in two halves. In one you coach a club: train them, pick them, answer the owner. In the other you play the match yourself, on a pitch or in the street. One menu opens both.

Two halves
Coach or play
A match
1 or 2 players
Online
Code or link
Plays with
Touch, keys, pad
How it plays

One menu, and what each row opens.

  1. Start a career

    Pick a country and a club, and coach it. You are the coach, never the chairman: you train the players, you pick the team, and you answer to the owner.

  2. Continue

    Once you have a career, it sits at the top of the menu as a card: your club, where you stand, who is next and how many decisions are waiting in your inbox. The gold button takes you back in.

  3. Kick off

    Play a match yourself. One player, or two on the same screen.

  4. Street

    Small sides, in six places from Lagos to Dakar. There are walls instead of touchlines, and no referee.

  5. Skills school

    Every dribbling move, one at a time, so you can learn it before you need it.

  6. Play online

    A match against someone anywhere. Choose 5, 7 or 11 a side and 2, 4 or 8 minutes. You get a code and a link to send. The match starts when both of you have pressed Ready.

  7. League with friends

    Up to eight coaches each take a club in the same league. Nobody has to be online at the same time: each of you sends your orders, and the matchday is played when they are in. Once a league starts, the seats are fixed.

  8. Look

    The Look button changes what is behind the menus and the colours they wear. It does not change the game.

Controls

The same game on glass, keys or a controller.

These are the Classic layout, which is what you get first. The full list is in the game under Pause, then Controls.

Touch
Your left thumb moves your player. Push it only halfway for close control. The buttons on the glass say what they do, and change when you lose the ball. Hold Shoot for power; before you let go, drag up for a chip, across for a finesse or down for a low one.
Keyboard
W A S D or the arrow keys move. L passes, K lobs or crosses, O plays it through, and ; or Space shoots. P or Shift sprints. Esc pauses.
Controller
The left stick moves. A passes, B shoots, X lobs or crosses, Y plays it through. The right trigger sprints and the left trigger is close control. Start pauses.
Without the ball
The same buttons defend: contain, tackle, slide, switch to another player, or send a teammate to press.
The other layout
Alternate swaps shoot and lob. Everything else stays where it is.
In the menu
Tap a row. On a computer the arrow keys choose and Enter selects; on a controller, the stick or the d-pad chooses and A selects.
One match

An online match, start to finish.

Open Play online and choose the size of the sides and the length. It offers eleven a side and four minutes first. Press start and you are in the lobby with a code and a link.

Send either to your friend. They paste the code or tap the link, and they do not need an account to take the seat. When both of you have pressed Ready, it kicks off. Whoever made the match plays the home side.

With the ball you pass, play it through, lob or shoot. A tap of pass is the short one and a hold reaches further. Without the ball the same buttons contain, tackle and slide. At full time you both see the result.

People ask

Before you kick off.

Is Issa Goal free to play?
Yes. It costs nothing to open and start playing.
Do I need an account?
Not to start. A career, a match, Street and the skills school open without one, and an online match seats you as a guest. A league with friends needs an account, and so does inviting someone by their handle.
Can I play Issa Goal with friends?
Yes, three ways. Kick off takes two players on one screen. Play online is two people anywhere: pick 5, 7 or 11 a side and 2, 4 or 8 minutes, then send the code or the link. A league with friends puts up to eight coaches in the same league, a matchday at a time.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Your left thumb moves your player, and the buttons on the glass say what they do and change when you lose the ball. A keyboard or a controller works too.
Is my career saved?
Yes, on the device you play it on. There is one career at a time. Starting a new one replaces it, and the game asks before it does.
Are the clubs and players real?
No. Issa Goal is not affiliated with or endorsed by any club, league, federation or player. Club names, players and stadiums are fictional.
Where it comes from

Football the way it is played here.

The name is what you shout when it goes in. The game has a full pitch, and it also has the street, because a lot of football is played between walls with small sides and nobody to blow a whistle.

Every club, player and stadium in it is invented. Issa Goal is not affiliated with or endorsed by any club, league, federation or player.

Now play

Pick a half and start.

Coach
Start a career: a country, a club, and a season to get through.
Play
Kick off for a match now, Street for small sides, or the skills school to learn the moves first.
With someone
Two on one screen, an online match by code or link, or a league with up to eight coaches.
Play Issa Goal

Opens in your browser. No account needed to start; a league with friends needs one.

one of the games in the Arcade.