View source for World Championship Soccer

{{Short description|1989 video game}}
{{redirect|Italia 1990|the video game released for Amiga and Atari ST|Italia 1990 (Codemasters)|the real-life tournament|1990 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Infobox video game
|title= World Championship Soccer
|image= World Championship Soccer Coverart.png
|caption= 
|developer= [[Sega]]
|publisher= Sega
|designer= 
|series= 
|engine= 
|release= {{vgrelease|NA|September 1989}}
|genre= Sports
|modes= Practice Tournament Two Player
|platforms= [[Arcade game|Arcade]], [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[Commodore 64]], [[DOS]], [[Mega Drive|Mega Drive/Genesis]], [[ZX Spectrum]]
}}

'''''World Championship Soccer''''' (ワールドカップサッカー) is a soccer game running on Sega's [[List of Sega arcade system boards#Sega Mega-Tech|Mega-Tech]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Mega-Tech System|url=http://segaretro.org/Mega-Tech_System|website=SegaRetro|accessdate=10 May 2016}}</ref> arcade cabinet system and was released as one of the first games for the [[Sega Genesis]] system in [[North America]] in September 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.trademarkia.com/world-championship-soccer74151992.html |title=Free Trademark Search &#124; Protect Business Name &#124; Incorporate Your Business &#124; Trademarkia |access-date=2012-12-12 |archive-date=2016-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624152256/http://www.trademarkia.com/world-championship-soccer74151992.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The European Mega Drive release, ''[[World Cup Italia '90]]'', was published jointly with [[Olivetti]] and [[Virgin Mastertronic]] and was an officially licensed franchise game of the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] featuring the official logo and mascot. After the World Cup licence had expired the game was renamed to '''''Sega Soccer''''' on the ''Mega 6'' compilation cartridge on the Mega Drive removing the [[Virgin Mastertronic]] credit. A different game was also released as ''World Cup Italia '90'' for the [[Master System]] in 1991 but this is not connected to ''World Championship Soccer''.

In 1990 the game was ported by [[Elite Systems]] for [[DOS]], [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[Commodore 64]] and [[ZX Spectrum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=World Championship Soccer (1991) |url=https://archive.org/details/msdos_World_Championship_Soccer_1991 |website=Internet Archive |access-date=29 May 2025}}</ref>

A sequel, ''[[World Championship Soccer 2]]'', was released in 1994 for the [[Sega Genesis|Sega Genesis/Mega Drive]].<ref>{{cite web |title=World Championship Soccer II |url=https://archive.org/details/sg_World_Championship_Soccer_II_1994_Sega_US |website=Internet Archive |access-date=29 May 2025}}</ref>

==Gameplay==
[[File:World Championship Soccer screenshot.png|thumb|left|Arcade version. The player-controlled character is indicated by the white triangle.]]
The game presents a top-down view of a simple version of soccer (there are no fouls, substitutions, or strategies). Players must dribble and pass the ball towards one end of the field and try to score a goal by forcing the ball into the opposing team's net. When the player's team has the ball, the player can either dribble the ball across the field, kick the ball towards the goal, pass the ball in the air to another team member, or kick the ball forward in the direction that the player is currently facing. When the opposing team has the ball, the player can switch between different team members on the field, or slide kick their opponent to dislodge the ball from their control.

When the ball goes out of bounds, the game will switch to a full-screen graphical view for a [[corner kick]] or a [[goal kick]]. If the game ends in a tie and is not an elimination round match during the championship mode, the game will switch to a graphical penalty kick view.

To start a game, the player must first select which country they would like to be. Teams are rated on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the best) based on four different attributes (''Speed'', ''Skill'', ''Defense'', and ''Keeper''). The best team in the game is [[Brazil]], while the worst two teams are [[China]] and [[Japan]]. Games run for 90 minutes, where each minute in the game is actually 6 seconds. There are three audio tracks during game play, chosen based on the teams in the match.

==Playable countries==
Upon release, some of the [[1990 FIFA World Cup qualification|qualifying games for the tournament]] had not yet been played. This led to some of the playable countries in the video game not being the same as those who actually participated in the tournament. Due to this, the game features only 14 of the teams that would take part in the final tournament: [[Austria national football team|Austria]], [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]], [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]], [[Costa Rica national football team|Costa Rica]], [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]], [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]], [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Ireland]], [[Romania national football team|Romania]], [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] and the [[United Arab Emirates national football team|UAE]] do not appear in the game.

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* {{fb|USA}}
* {{fb|MEX}}
* {{fb|PER}}
* {{fb|BRA}}
* {{fb|ARG}}
* {{fb|URU}}
* {{fb|MAR}}
* {{fb|ALG}}
* {{fb|ENG}}
* {{fb|SCO}}
* {{fb|ITA}}
* {{fb|FRA}}
* {{fb|ESP}}
* {{fb|NLD}}
* {{fb|DEN}}
* {{fb|BEL}}
* {{fb|HUN}}
* {{fb|YUG}}
* {{fb|POL}}
* {{fb|USSR}}
* {{fb|FRG}}
* {{fb|CHN}}
* {{fb|JPN}}
* {{fb|KOR}}
{{div col end}}

==Reception==
''[[The One (magazine)|The One]]'' reviewed the home computer versions (Amiga, Atari ST, DOS) of ''World Championship Soccer'' in 1991, criticising the "rudimentary" ways the player may pass and shoot the ball, stating that "There are no fancy overhead kicks, headers, volleys or half-volleys here, nor anything that gives you effective control over the strength of your kick." ''The One'' furthermore calls ''World Championship Soccer'' a "mediocre alternative" to ''[[Kick Off (series)#Sequels|Kick Off 2]]'', but expresses that while "there is nothing wrong with ''WCS's'' structure - it is more accurate than ''Kick Off 2's'' 'three points for a win' World Cup, and the quality of the teams is varied enough to keep you hooked ... the action lacks substance." ''The One'' calls ''World Championship Soccer'' "basic, [[no frills]]" soccer.<ref name=theone>{{cite magazine|title = Here we go, here we go... again|date = February 1991|url = https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-29/page/n21|magazine = The One|publisher = emap Images|last1 = Houghton|first1 = Gordon|last2 = Hamza|first2 = Kati|issue = 29|page = 23}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[World Cup USA '94]]''
* ''[[List of Sega Genesis games]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{moby game|id=/world-championship-soccer}}

[[Category:1989 video games]]
[[Category:1990 FIFA World Cup]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Arcade video games]]
[[Category:Association football video games]]
[[Category:Atari ST games]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Elite Systems games]]
[[Category:Sega Genesis games]]
[[Category:Sega video games]]
[[Category:Sports video games set in Italy]]
[[Category:Video games developed in Japan]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Mark Cooksey]]
[[Category:Video games set in 1990]]
[[Category:ZX Spectrum games]]