Top 25 best football games for iPhone and iPad (iOS)

The brilliant New Star Soccer set the terms for a brilliant mobile-focused football game of depth and nuance. New Star Manager goes even deeper by shifting the focus from the individual to the team, with masterful results.

When Jose Mourinho is presenting your game, you're probably pretty successful, right? Top Eleven has been around for a decade now already, and it has been updated many times since its release, improving the gameplay with each iteration. Certainly one of the best football manager games on iOS that you can play even in 2023.

New Star Soccer dared to present a new way to play football that was specifically designed for touchscreen devices. The result is a game that mixes casual swipe-based gameplay and light management, and the king of mobile footy.

Soccer Super Star - Football is a new football game, that has better kick physics than similar titles within the genre. This one feels a bit more realistic when it comes to where the ball ends up going, showing you little guides when you are ready to kick. There are tons of different levels to move forward in, lots of different shots to take, and tons of real-time moments that you can take control of!

The makers of the brilliant Pixel Cup Soccer have produced this Apple Arcade follow up, which is a much slicker, more polished, 3D affair. At heart, though, it's still a light and fun arcade kick around.

No, it's not a game about boring the opponent to death with metronomic passing. In fact, Tiki Taka Soccer is one of the most thrillingly instinctive games of virtual soccer on the App Store.

Not as in-depth or sophisticated as Football Manager Touch, Football Manager 2023 Mobile nonetheless provides an accessible footy management game for iPhone owners and those who don't want to fall too far down the FM rabbit hole.

Another fast-paced arcade kick-around that draws inspiration from the classic top-down games of yesteryear. Retro Soccer is rough around the edges, but it's never less than a giggle to play.

FIFA might have the licenses and a certain degree of realism, but Pixel Cup Soccer 16 nails the straight-forward joy of those classic arcade soccer games of the '90s.

Manage your team of no-hopers to victory in true Kairosoft style. It's a particularly quirky, lo-fi approach to management that's nowhere near as in-depth as FM, but is a whole lot cuter.

Score! Hero is a gesture-controlled 3D foot sim that offers a great story combined with good graphics. You play as a young football player who is trying to become the main star of the football world. To achieve this, you need to pass a series of tests at different levels. The game contains over 580 levels, each with good 3D graphics. Included is a multiplayer mode with a leaderboard and achievements.

If you want an in-depth console-style take on football for your mobile, there's only really one choice - and it isn't FIFA Mobile. eFootball is built on the same engine as the console games that you might know as Pro Evolution Soccer, or PES, which makes it an extremely fluid and nuanced take on the beautiful game.

More casual multiplayer action here, as you flick your counters around the pitch to score goals. If you like Subbuteo and air hockey, give it a shot.

I mean, it still counts, right? Playing football with your car is still a sports game where you need to defend your own goal and stick a few to your adversary. Might be a bit unorthodox, but give it a try and you'll see that it's even more fun than it sounds!

Like Flick Kick Football with a top-down perspective, Tiny Striker has you bending the ball into the back of the net from a variety of improbable positions.

Football Strike is loved by millions of iPhone users. It has several online modes: shooting at targets in a fast-paced, time-limited battle for points in Shooting Race mode, or alternately playing as an attacker and goalkeeper in Free Kick (1v1) mode.

Big Win Soccer brings a dose of the Panini sticker album (or Pokemon, if you're young) to the footy game genre. Open packs, build your team, and cheer them to victory over other players.

You can't have a list of football games without a FIFA - even if this is one of the weaker additions to the series. Footy goes freemium and deeply social in this polished sports game.

Rumble Stars Soccer has more in common with Clash Royale than FIFA, but we're not complaining. This is a brilliantly tactical online multiplayer kick-around with larger-than-life animal players and sharp presentation.

From the makers of Mucho Party and Lamp and Vamp comes this unlikely mixture of Subbuteo, chess and Rocket League. Swipe your players into position and outscore the (real-life) opposition.

Super Soccer Champs 2022 goes back to the arcade footy greats of the home computer era - think Sensible Soccer and Kick Off. That means intuitive top-down action with hidden layers of depth.

First Touch Games has built a reputation over many years for being one of the best at translating the console footy experience to mobile. Dream League Soccer 2023 is another shot on target.

Footy action and RPG mechanics collide in this quirky take on the beautiful game, which ties in with the popular anime.

A football management game with a major difference, Football Drama focuses on story ahead of tactical machinations, accompanied by highly stylised (and beautiful) graphics.

Football Chairman Pro takes a further step back from the footy management sub-genre, and places you in the expensive shoes of a club chairman. Hire managers, sanction transfers, upgrade your stadium and more.