The 18 Best Anime About Soccer

Blue Lock is arguably one of the most unique anime on this list. Most sports anime are notable for their teamwork, but Blue Lock focuses on the exact opposite - the characters in this series are encouraged to be selfish and ruthless to achieve their ultimate goal. With the Japan Football Union on a hot losing streak, in a last ditch effort they develop a program called Blue Lock. This program is designed to pit the country’s best players against each other in hopes of creating the strongest, most egotistical striker possible to represent Japan in the World Cup.

Ashito Aoi is the star soccer player of his small rural town. His talent is the one thing that can take his home team to victory in their preliminary soccer tournament, but an opponent causes him to lose his cool mid-match and he’s removed from the game as a result. Despite his outburst, he’s invited to try out for a team in Tokyo, and now must test his talents amongst other star athletes.

Two strangers named Jin and Tsukashi meet fatefully one night. Tsukashi is a plain person with no outstanding traits, but Jin is a soccer genius. After their meeting Jin is inclined to introduce Tsukashi to the game that he loves. Days is the epitome of a sports anime, featuring a protagonist who refuses to give up and a team that is driven by friendship and camaraderie.

Considered a sports anime classic, Captain Tsubasa focuses on an 11-year-old boy named Tsubasa Oozora who is obsessed with soccer. To expand his knowledge he moves to Nankatsu city - except now he’s surrounded by players who begin to outshine him. While Tsubasa’s journey was originally an anime adapted from a manga in 1983, the series received a 2018 reboot in honor of the FIFA World Cup.

Brothers Suguru and Kakeru both have a passion for soccer, but while Suguru is a star player, Kakeru is stuck in the shadows as his manager. Kakeru, no longer satisfied with being behind-the-scenes, decides that he wants a shot at the World Cup. Luckily for him he has his childhood best friend Nana in his corner - who also happens to be a top-ranked player on Japan’s women's national team.

Based off of the popular Nintendo DS game, Inazuma Eleven centers around a soccer club of the same name that’s on the verge of being disbanded. Mamoru Endo is the grandson of the club’s first generation captain and is set on saving the team. By recruiting new players, including the powerful Shuuya Gouenji, he works towards taking Inazuma Eleven back to the top.

Very rarely do the protagonists of sports anime focus on things other than the game itself, but for Aoyama it’s second nature. Although he’s a popular athlete at his school, ironically he’s also a germaphobe. This unique series follows Aoyama’s struggles as a clean freak, as well as his life of being a star soccer player.

For an interesting twist on the genre, Giant Killing’s protagonist isn’t a player on the team - he’s the coach. When East Tokyo United can’t stop losing - games, fans and morale - the board of directors hires Takeshi Tatsumi as a last resort. Tatsumi is known for being a soccer prodigy in his youth, but he abandoned the ETU years ago and is considered a traitor by the league. Regardless, he’s confident that with his skills he can take the underdogs all the way to the top.

Sibling dynamics always add an extra element into anime, and the world of soccer is no different. Kyousuke is the younger brother of professional athlete Seisuke Kano and always feels stuck in his shadow. The immense pressure results in him hating the game that he once loved. There are classmates of his, though, that see his potential and refuse to let him waste his talents. Will Kyousuke be able to break free from his insecurities and find his love of soccer again?

Sho Kazamatsuri dreams of being a professional soccer player, and even attends a school with a top rated team. The only issue is that he’s objectively bad at the game and can’t make it past third string. In hopes of improving his skills, he transfers to a new school where he can finally get on the field and play.

Main character Shou begins the series already down on his luck after his soccer team is disbanded. Soon, though, he crosses paths with new transfer student Erika along with professional player Misaki. Together he believes that they can revive his old team and achieve their ambitious goal of becoming the #1 soccer team in the galaxy.

Despite being a skilled goalkeeper, Goro Kamagaya fails to get into Yokonan High School and join its elite soccer club. He’s forced to join the lower ranked Kawasaki High School, and while he’s not excited at first, he realizes that the school’s soccer team possesses talented players. Together with his teammates they strive to improve their skills, challenge other schools like Yokonan and take home the title of soccer champions.

Shoot! was a popular soccer manga in the 1990s, and received an anime adaptation titled Blue Legend Shoot! In 1994. The story still continues on in modern anime with it receiving an additional series titled Shoot! Goal to the Future in 2022. Although Blue Legend Shoot! is one of the older anime on this list, if you're a soccer fanatic, this show is a classic. It follows Toshiko Tanaka as he joins the same school and team as his idol, Yoshiharu Kubo. But things don’t go as he’d imagine, with Kubo falling sick and freshmans being prohibited from playing as regulars. Toshi begins to lose hope until he reunites with his childhood best friends and they start off their high school soccer careers.

Did you know that One Piece had its own soccer special? Released alongside the series’ third movie One Piece: Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals, this fun sports installment is known for commemorating Japan’s hosting of the 2002 World Cup. If you’ve ever wanted to see the Straw Hats try their hand at the game of soccer, this special provides just that.

Also known simply as Top Striker, Burn! Top Striker is an anime centered around Hikaru Kicker. He’s a 13-year-old boy who has loved soccer his entire life - so much that he moves to Italy just to learn more about the game. When he first arrives in the country he joins a weak team, but with his knowledge and skills he works to improve his teammates and win his new home’s first ever soccer tournament.

If you’re looking for something that mixes sports with mystery, you can’t go wrong with this classic Detective Conan movie. If you’re not familiar with Detective Conan, it follows Shinichi Kudo who is a skilled teen detective… Until a murder attempt reverts his body to that of a small child. Now he has to sneak around trying to solve mysteries without getting caught. The 16th movie installment finds Shinichi and company at a J-League soccer match. All is going well until a bomb threat is made and Shinichi has to stop the criminal before it's too late. Following the detective on his mysterious adventures is always fun, but adding the sports element to it brings a new life to the subgenre.

Sports anime protagonists tend to be male, which is what makes this anime a breath of fresh air. Nozami Onda is used to playing soccer with boys as girls soccer teams are becoming scarce across Japan. She’s hesitant to join the team at her new school, but eventually decides to give it a shot. She finds that while it's something she's not used to, she enjoys playing with the other girls on the team and helping them to improve their own soccer skills.

Soccer Fever is something you can’t miss if you’re a huge soccer fan. Rather than following a character’s sports journey, this show is an adaptation of all the iconic stories and matches that happened during past World Cups, from 1930 to 1994. This series highlights the history of soccer to make it a one-of-a-kind anime.