Top 10 Best Soccer Anime to Watch - 2025 (Ranked)

When it comes to soccer, one of its favourite representations often adored by the fans is through animated series. What started long ago with short films has now transitioned to beautiful representations in anime. In general, best soccer anime captures the spirit of the most famous sport in the world. It combines thrilling matches with heartfelt stories about personal growth, teamwork, and perseverance.

Whether you are a sports lover or you just enjoy a good backstory in anime about soccer, the world of best soccer anime has something for everyone. Over the years, numerous best soccer animes have been released. These series have gained substantial popularity and in this article, we are going to explore the list top 10 best football anime to watch in 2025.

List of Best Soccer Animes in 2025

Check out the best soccer animes to watch in 2025. These have been shortlisted after reviewing a bunch of best soccer anime based on character development, story, IMDb ratings and realism to the sport.

How We Ranked the Best Soccer Animes in 2025?

The following are the factors that we have considered for compiling the list of best football anime to watch.

• Story & Character Development: The first and foremost factor is the storyline; how well the anime develops the characters and makes a compelling narrative with its character development.
• Animation & Visual Quality: Animation and visual quality are important in keeping the audience engaged with the best football anime series. The overall style of animation and visual appeal is considered.
• Realism & Accuracy: Realism and accuracy of the anime series, techniques, along with the matches depicted in the movie, are considered to rank best soccer anime.
• Originality & Impact: How impactful the fans have engaged and reacted to the movie is also considered. Innovative storytelling that sets the anime apart from the rest was also considered.

Which is the Best Football Anime to Watch in 2025?

Here is the detailed list of the best anime about soccer in 2025. Let's see which are the best soccer anime to watch based on the aforementioned ranking factors:

10. The Knight in the Area (Area no Kishi) - (2012)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@Hei2z)

We opened the list of best football anime to watch, and "The Knight in the Area” is a little different from the rest. The anime series was released in 2012. It is a heartwarming story of brotherhood and redemption, and the anime’s themes resonate deeply with the audience.

The series actually explores its main character, Kakeru Aizawa's rise as a soccer player following a personal tragedy. Later, Kakeru returns to pursue his brother's unfulfilled dream of playing football following his death in an accident.

9. Clean Freak! Aoyama kun - (2017)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@JustAnime)

Aoyama Kun is a high school student and a promising soccer player for the Fujimi High School soccer team. This single-season anime series was released in 2017 and comprises 12 episodes loaded with comedy, thrill and action-packed soccer action.

Aoyama is prodigiously possessed of exceptional skills, but the part that makes it more interesting is Ayoma has an obsession with cleaning and tidiness. Despite being a germophobic, the series shows how he overcomes his nature in order to play the sport.

8. Hungry Heart: Wild Striker - (2002-2003)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@CandraMahendra)

One of the best football anime, Hungry Heart, the story revolves around a high school student named Kyosuke Kano. Interestingly, Kyosuke is the younger brother of Seisuke Kano, who plays for the famous Italian club AC Milan in the series. It leads to a comparison with his elder and successful brother.

The series shows the struggle of Kyosuke as he reignites his passion for playing football after transferring to his school. He re-explores his identity, passion, and overcoming self-doubt. After stepping out of his brother’s shadow, Kano rediscovers his love for the sport in a high school setting. This is what the anime is about.

7. Whistle! - (2002-2003)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@Elefenrir)

Next up on the list of best soccer anime is Whistle!! It is another amazing series that should be on the watchlist of every soccer enthusiast or sports anime lover. The “Whistle” anime series is an inspiring story that follows Shou Kazamatsuri, a school student.

He works hard to live his dream of playing in a top-tier soccer school. Primarily, it is the story of Kazamatsuri, who transfers schools to pursue his dream of becoming a professional soccer player, despite not being good at it. He learns the sport the hard way, while leading his school team.

6. Inazuma Eleven - (2008-2011)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@GameSpot Trailers)

One of the best football anime, immensely popular among the anime and soccer communities. Inazuma Eleven is a famous series for both soccer lovers and anime fans. The series ran from 2008 to 2011 over three seasons and contains 127 episodes, depicting a blend of sports, fantasy and comedy.

The anime captures the young players using amazing moves to win the matches. It is perfect for younger audiences and fans of action-packed sports drama. Inazuma Eleven's main character, Endou Mamoru he plays as a goalkeeper, leads his team to the top.

5. Giant Killing - (2010)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@Alenzeth)

Giant Killing can be considered amongst best soccer animes. The series revolves around a struggling football club, East Tokyo United (ETU) that aims to avoid relegation from the Japanese football league. ETU hires its former player "Tatsumi", who marks his return from England, as their manager.

He leads them to overcome the tactical challenges and management of leading an underdog team to victory. It is a tactical story about the struggle of East Tokyo United to climb the league under the guidance of their unorthodox coach. This is more for a mature audience and has realistic storylines.

4. Days - (2016)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@GoShubeo)

One of the best soccer anime, is a sports drama series called The Days from 2016. Despite being released a decade ago, it is still relevant with its interesting plot and a story of sheer determination. Anime fans must watch this amazing series, which shows the story of Tsukushi Tsukamoto.

A shy and unathletic high school kid. He is a shy boy who grows as a player with his relentless effort, inspiring his teammates along the way. Tsukushi befriends Jin Kazama, who inspires him to play soccer.

3. Captain Tsubasa - (1983-1995)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@Travis Roig)

Renowned as one of the best anime about soccer, Captain Tsubasa is a classic series that tells a story about Tsubasa Ozora. He is a young boy with big dreams of winning the FIFA World Cup for Japan. The influence of the series is massive as it has inspired many players and soccer fans worldwide.

This is more of a modern take on the original classic. It actually follows the professional journey in Europe, making it a treat for the long-time fans. In this series, there was a showcase of his rise in the international soccer scene and professional leagues.

2. Ao Ashi - (2022)

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@Crunchyroll)

Ao Ashi quickly gained fame as best soccer anime since its release in 2022. The series won multiple awards in the same year for the best Sports and action anime. There are some anime series of soccer that were recently added to the genre, and Ao Ashi is one of them.

It is a highly rated 8.1 animated series on IMDb by the users based on Ashito Aoi’s journey to become a professional soccer player. Despite being a highly talented player, Aoi hid his talent. It emphasises realistic tactics, gameplay, and personal growth.

1. Blue Lock - 2022

(Video courtesy: Youtube/@Crunchyroll)

In the first, we have a highly recommended, one of the best soccer anime, “Blue Lock”. This series focuses on fierce competition as 300 strikers compete in a high-stakes program to create the best centre forward in Japan. The story depicts the aftermath of of poor 2018 World Cup performance of Japan.

The anime series should be on top of your watch list for its distinct psychological take on soccer. It has 24 episodes across two seasons, both available on Crunchyroll and Netflix, this series is undoubtedly tops the list of best soccer animes in 2025.