The Definitive Ranking Of Your Favourite Childhood Football Games

Back in simpler times there was nothing quite like popping outside for a quick game of ball with your mates. Games inevitably strayed from a strict team v team match, we even remember playing games with three teams and three goals.

We rank five of the best and most frequently played games from your childhood. Each estate in each village seemed to have different rules so they may not be exactly as you played them; you played them wrongly obviously.

5. Wall Ball

Nothing too complicated here, kick a ball against a wall to a mate or two, often to the extreme annoyance of the owner of said wall. Could evolve to capture all sorts of rules including players lining up against the wall to have the ball smacked at them if their 'pass' missed a designated section of the wall.

You wouldn't dare risk your good ball on this game, instead using a £2 cup champion football or, if you were lucky, a 'street ball' made specifically for playing on the road.

4.World Cup

In this game players chose a country and represented them in a 'World Cup'. It was each man for himself, often up to a dozen 'countries' starting the first round. Simply score a goal and you were through to the next round. Be the last player left without scoring in a round and you were knocked out, a bit like football musical chairs. When the game was finally whittled down to two players, the final would occur with the requirement being three goals to lift the invisible Jules Rimet trophy.

Always started with a preliminary round to pick countries, the first to score would always pick Ireland or Brazil with some more adventurous picks down the line, Cameroon being oddly popular. Croatia always got a look in too. You could quickly regrest scoring early, waiting an age for the next round.

3. Three and in

Rules for this game changed depending on the numbers of players available. More often than not it involved battling your mates to be the first to score three goals. If you bagged the hat-trick yourself you got to pick someone to go in goals or, if you were feeling brave, going in yourself.

The simplest of games, arguments would always ensue however as to where the imaginary goal posts were and if a shot was indeed a goal, over, or the dreaded 'post and out'.

2.Heads and Volleys

Players had to try to score a goal strictly by means of a header or a volley. No, half-volleys don't count ya thick. The keeper got to choose making a clean catch or a wide, as a method of getting themselves out of nets. Should either occur and he had chosen that option at the start, another played went in. Often needed improvisation when goals were slow coming including flicking up the ball in very close proximity to your mate for him to volley.

You never whacked the ball too hard however, or you'd be legging it to hide after smacking a massive dent into a neighbours car.

1. Red Arse

Should you be the unlikely man in goal, you could never show you were in absolute agony.