Strategy

A field guide to the career rivals

Career mode is a ladder of fourteen computer rivals, and each one has a habit you can learn and beat. This guide gives you a nudge for every rival, not the answer: working it out is the game, and the full dossier is your reward for winning.

Updated 6 November 2026 · 5 min read

How the career works

There are two leagues of six rivals, and each league ends with a Cup final against a boss. You meet them in order: beating a rival unlocks the next one, and winning the League 1 Cup opens League 2. League 1 uses the classic rules, three zones and a shootout of five kicks each. League 2 keeps those rules and switches tricks on, so both sides get one long reach and one power shot per match.

Before you win, a rival's card shows only his name, his strength and, if it applies, the line "Gives himself away with a glance". Beat him and the card opens his dossier, a single line that says what gives him away. Lose, and you can go again straight away. Winning a league's Cup also unlocks one item in the Locker room, which you can then buy with coins.

The rivals at a glance

Everything in this table is shown in the game before you play each rival, so there are no spoilers here.

League 1

The first league is built for learning. The early rivals barely adapt to you, and most of them give themselves away with a glance when shooting or a shift of weight in goal. Use them to practise the habits from How to read your rival.

Righty

His name is the first clue, and he makes no effort to hide it. He also glances before he shoots, which makes him the right place to practise deciding whether a tell deserves your trust.

The Wall

Some players hate leaving home. Think about the zone most people forget, then count how often he uses it, both in goal and when he shoots.

Grudge

He takes things personally. Pay attention to the very next kick after you score against him, and after you save one of his shots. His glance shows up about every other kick.

The Gambler

He does not believe any run can last. Before each pick, look at his last two in that role. He glances often, so decide early whether his eyes have earned your trust.

Mirror

No tells, and his picks come from the last kick, though not only from his own side of it. Write down both players' picks each time, yours included.

Flip-Flop

Add up his picks at the end of a match and they look perfectly fair. So stop adding up and look at the order instead.

The Captain (Cup final)

The first rival who really reads you: no tells, and he remembers how you played in earlier matches. His weak spot is confidence, so notice what he does after something goes his way. Keep your own picks mixed, because he punishes habits.

League 2

League 2 turns tricks on, and the rivals become proper readers. They are Pro or Legend strength, and most of them remember your earlier matches, so your own habits matter as much as theirs. Each one still has a single leak.

Parrot

He seems clever, but a lot of his ideas are borrowed. Your own last pick is a better clue to his next move than anything he did himself.

Bookkeeper

A tidy mind, with the occasional glance. Keep a count of where he has gone this match; he is keeping one too.

Jitters

Solid in the early kicks, and he never gives himself away with his eyes. The kicks to watch are the late ones: the last regulation kicks, a match point, sudden death.

Sly

He glances to one side on almost every kick. Keep a strict tally of whether his glance came true. Three or four kicks should be enough to make up your mind about him.

Nervy

Strong until things go wrong. Watch his very next pick after a kick he loses, whether that is a goal you scored against him or a shot of his you saved.

The Professor

Most of the time an all-round reader with no obvious weakness. Now and then he follows a route of his own, so look at runs of three picks rather than single ones.

Ghost (Cup final)

The final boss plays close to the unreadable ideal, where even a perfect read only helps a little. If there is a crack, it is right at the start, before he has learned anything about you.

Advice for the whole career

• Watch first. Use the first two or three kicks to collect picks and results. Decide nothing until you have seen a pattern twice.
• A habit is a tendency, not a rule. Every rival breaks his own habit some of the time. Losing a kick on a correct read does not make the read wrong.
• Read both roles. Most rivals carry their habit into both shooting and diving, which gives you two chances in every pair of kicks to confirm it.
• Mind your own habits. From the League 1 Cup final on, the rivals are serious readers too. If the scout report after a match names a habit of yours, break it next time. Why you can't be random explains how.
• Time your tricks. In League 2 the long reach and the power shot can decide a match. When to use the power shot and the long reach covers the timing.
• Replay for practice. Beaten rivals stay open. A replay pays coins like a quick match, without the first-win bonus, and it is a calm way to test a theory.