Co-op Season and to a lesser extent, Be a Pro, modes work because it’s still childishly gratifying to see your surname on your favourite team’s shirt as you rocket a 25-yarder into the top corner of the onion bag to complete your hat-trick. And all the more so when you make your long-suffering mates endure replays of it from every angle. If you actually play soccer and know a bit about teamwork and positional play, then you’ll get an extra kick out of trying to make the right runs and timing them so you stay onside, tracking back and all the other stuff that a proper professional soccer player is expected to do over the course of 90 minutes.

In both versions, the face buttons are used to call for passes and crosses from computer-controlled teammates, but in the more competitive Co-op Season you’ll need to press the relevant face button quicker than your mates to get on the ball. The same goes for when you’re awarded a corner, a free-kick or a penalty. The one flaw in the Co-op season is that only the current season leader and the current captain are allowed to make formation changes right before a game, so if you find yourself lagging behind your mates a few matches into the season, then expect to stay there because they’ll probably end up sticking you in defence - even if your natural position is a striker - where there are fewer opportunities to increase your stats.

This year’s FIFA also makes a few changes on the pitch too. As usual there are a handful of new tricks assigned to the Right analogue stick, which in our eyes has always seemed more for show than as an effective way to beat a man. Now, however, you can perform more advanced moves with the L2 modifier, which lets you build up FIFA Street-style flicks and tricks that even Ronaldo’s Riverdancing feet would have a hard time keeping up with. If you happen to be in control of a star player, then combining tricks can eventually lead to you pulling off that player's signature move. It’s a bit gimmicky, but it does make for some spectacular passages of play.