Real Match Rules Explained: Offside, Throw-ins, Corners and Stamina

Most browser football games, and the Classic mode in NextBall, keep the ball inside walls. The ball never goes out, nobody is ever offside and the game never stops. That makes matches fast, but it also means that the tactics of real football do not matter much.

Real Match takes the walls away. The ball can leave the pitch, the referee logic restarts play the way a real referee would, and the attacking team has to stay onside. You can play it as 3v3, 5v5 or a full 11v11 on stadiums built for each size, so the pitch always fits the number of players.

A player is offside when he is nearer to the opponent goal line than both the ball and the second-last defender at the moment a team-mate plays the ball to him, and he then takes part in the play. NextBall checks this at the moment of the pass, not at the moment of the touch, exactly like the real law.

When offside is called the game stops, the offside line is drawn across the pitch so everyone can see where the attacker stood, and a short replay shows the moment of the pass. The defending team then restarts with a free kick from where the offence happened.

How to use it as a defender: step up together when the ball is played backwards. A high line catches lazy forwards. As an attacker: stay level with the last defender and start your run as the pass is played, not before it.

When the ball crosses a touchline, the team that did not touch it last gets a throw-in from that spot. When it crosses a goal line, it is a corner if a defender touched it last and a goal kick if an attacker did.

During a restart the ball is held still and every player can move freely to take position, so the taker has time to look for a free team-mate. Players keep their normal movement and network smoothing during these pauses, so nobody suddenly feels slow while the restart is being set up.

Corners are the best chance to score from a cross: lob the ball into the box and let a team-mate finish it in the air (see headers and volleys below).

In Real Match a goalkeeper can catch a dropping ball. A cross that drops close to the keeper is usually his, so aim crosses for the space between the keeper and the defenders, or for the far post. A chip that is still rising when it reaches the goal goes over the bar, so time your lob shots so that the ball is already coming down.

Hold Shift to sprint. Sprinting uses stamina, and a tired player is slower until he recovers. That one rule changes how a match feels: a team that sprints everywhere in the first minute is slow in the third.

Good players sprint in short bursts: to get behind a defence, to recover after losing the ball, or to reach a cross first. Walking back into position when the ball is far away saves the stamina for the moments that decide a match.

Press E to lunge: a sudden slide in the direction you are heading that can cut the ball out of an opponent's path. You cannot kick while sliding, there is a short get-up afterwards and the next lunge is available 2.5 seconds later.

A lunge that misses takes you out of the play, so use it when the attacker has already committed to a direction, or as the last player between the ball and your goal.

When a lobbed ball drops towards you, a ring appears around it. Kick on the green ring for a header, aimed with your movement keys. Kick on the orange ring for a volley, the hardest shot in the game. Both earn their own tag on the goal banner.

Not in a good position to shoot? Run under the ball without kicking and your chest kills it at your feet. You can practise all three alone: create a Real Match room, stay alone in it and use the training keys 7 and 8 (see the training guide).

3v3 is fast and every player touches the ball often; it is the best way to learn the rules. 5v5 adds real positions: a keeper, two defenders and two forwards. 11v11 is a full match with room for wingers, overlaps and long switches of play. Bigger matches reward passing and staying in position much more than dribbling.

Real Match rooms are Rated by default, so even matches count for your Real Match rank. The rank guide explains when a match counts.