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How to Play Player Sorter: Step-by-Step Guide to Ranking Football Players

Learn how to play Player Sorter in minutes: pick a squad, filter positions, win every matchup with pick, tie and undo, use keyboard shortcuts, then share your football ranking as an image or link.

By Player SorterNov 8, 202614 min read

How to Play Player Sorter: Step-by-Step Guide to Ranking Football Players

How to Play Player Sorter (Quick Answer)

To play Player Sorter, open playersorter.com, pick a squad, choose which positions to include, then press "Start sorting" and answer one question per round: "Who do you prefer?" Click the player you like more, press "Can't choose (tie)" if you can't separate them, and use "Undo" if you misclick. When the progress bar reaches 100%, you get your full ranking from #1 to the last player, ready to share as an image, a text list or a link.

That is the whole game. A typical full squad of 24 to 29 players takes at most 89 to 114 matchups, and most people finish a squad in five to ten minutes. No account, no download and no sign-up are needed.

If you want to jump straight in, open the Player Sorter squad picker and come back to this guide whenever you need a tip. The rest of this article walks through every screen, every button and every shortcut, plus the tricks that make your ranking more honest.

Before You Kick Off: What You Need

Player Sorter is designed to feel like the start screen of a football video game: pick your team, set your line-up, press start. Before your first match, here is all you need to know:

A device with a browser. It works on desktop, tablet and phone. On a phone you tap; on a computer you can click or use the keyboard.
No account. Sorting never asks you to sign in. Your progress and your last ranking are stored locally in your browser.
A few minutes. You can stop at any point with "Save & exit" and resume later in the same browser.
An opinion. There are no right answers. The game measures your preference, not a stat sheet.

If you are completely new and want the background first (why pairwise choices beat rating scales, and how the merge-sort engine works), read our companion article, What Is Player Sorter?. This guide focuses on how to actually play.

Step 1: Pick a Squad

The home page opens on a squad picker headed "PICK WHAT YOU WANT TO RANK". Squads are grouped into three sections:

Section	What's inside	Examples
Men's clubs	27 top European clubs	Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, PSG, Juventus, Inter, Ajax
Women's clubs	7 leading women's sides	Barcelona Femení, Chelsea Women, Arsenal Women, Manchester City Women, OL Lyonnes
National teams	2026 World Cup squads	Spain, Argentina, France, England, Uruguay

That is 39 squads in total. Each card shows the squad name and its player count. Use "Search squads" to filter by name, or "Show all" to expand a section.

Click a squad to open its page. Every squad has its own URL, so you can bookmark your favorite. For example, the Real Madrid player sorter or the Argentina 2026 World Cup squad sorter take you straight to the setup screen.

Can't find your team? Use "Make a request" on the home page, or the "Someone missing from this squad?" link on a squad page. You can request a new squad, report a missing player, or send any other feedback. Requests help decide which squads are added next.

Step 2: Set Up Your Line-Up

The squad page shows the season squad and the prompt "Choose who to include in your ranking." This is where you decide what question you are answering.

Filter by position

Players are grouped into Goalkeepers, Defenders, Midfielders and Forwards. Tap a position to switch the whole group off, or tap a single player to leave them out. The summary line updates instantly, for example:

26 players · at most 99 matchups

Turn off everyone except the forwards and the same squad might drop to around 5 or 6 players and fewer than 15 matchups. Filtering is the fastest way to answer narrow questions like "Who is the best midfielder at this club?"

Switch kits

Some squads offer a Home / Away kit switch. It is purely visual, but picking your favorite kit makes the matchup cards feel more like a game.

Full squad vs. partial ranking

You need at least two players to start. Keep in mind one rule: only full-squad rankings count toward the community ranking. If you filter positions, you still get your personal result, but it stays out of the shared stats. If you want your vote to count, rank the whole squad.

When you are happy with the line-up, press "Start sorting". If you already started this squad earlier, you will see "Resume (x% sorted)" instead, and "View last ranking" if you finished it before.

Step 3: Play the Matchups

This is the core of the game. Each round shows:

"Matchup n": the round number.
"x% sorted": a progress bar showing how close you are to the final ranking.
"Who do you prefer?": two player cards side by side, each with the photo, name and position.

Pick the player you like more. The next pair appears immediately. Behind the scenes, Player Sorter uses a merge-sort approach: it builds small sorted groups and merges them, so every answer you give is reused. You never have to compare every possible pair, which for a 26-player squad would be 325 questions.

Sometimes a card shows a small badge like "Tied with 2 more". That means the player is already part of a tied group from earlier choices, and picking them moves the whole group together.

What counts as "prefer"?

That is up to you, and deciding it before you start makes your ranking much more consistent. Common definitions:

Best player right now (current form and quality)
Favorite player (pure fan love, regardless of ability)
Most important to the team (who you would least like to lose)
Best career at the club (legacy over the current season)

Pick one definition and stick to it for the whole session. Switching halfway is the main reason rankings feel "off" at the end.

Controls and Keyboard Shortcuts

Every round is a simple choice, built around a handful of actions:

Action	Button	Keyboard	When to use it
Pick left player	Click/tap the left card	← (Left arrow)	You prefer the left player
Pick right player	Click/tap the right card	→ (Right arrow)	You prefer the right player
Tie	"Can't choose (tie)"	↓ (Down arrow)	You genuinely cannot separate them
Undo	"Undo"	Backspace	You misclicked or changed your mind
Save & exit	"Save & exit"	—	You want to stop and continue later

On desktop, the keyboard is the fastest way to play. Rest two fingers on the arrow keys and you can finish a full squad in a few minutes. On a phone, the large cards are easy to tap with a thumb.

About ties: a tie places both players on the same rank, shown with an equals sign (for example, "4="). Use it when you honestly have no preference, not as a way to skip hard decisions. Too many ties make your top ten blurry.

About undo: undo steps back one matchup at a time, so you can rewind several rounds if needed. The sorter replays the same matchup order for a saved session, so resuming or undoing never scrambles your progress.

Step 4: Read Your Final Ranking

When the progress bar hits 100%, the screen switches to "Your ranking": a complete list from #1 to the last player you included. Tied players share a number with an "=" mark.

Take a moment to read it from top to bottom. A good ranking should feel right, with a few surprises. If something looks wrong, there are two options:

"Sort again" restarts the same squad, letting you change filters or your definition of "prefer".
"All squads" sends you back to the picker to rank another team.

Your last ranking stays saved in the browser, so you can reopen it later from the squad page with "View last ranking".

Press "Share ranking" to open the share panel. This is where Player Sorter turns your result into something you can post.

Choose what to show

Top 3 for a quick podium
Top 10 for the classic list (available when you ranked more than 3 players)
Full squad for the complete list (available when you ranked more than 10 players)

Choose the image shape

Shape	Ratio	Best for
Story	9:16	Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp stories
Post	4:5	Instagram and Facebook feed posts
Square	1:1	Group chats, forums and most social feeds
Wide	16:9	X (Twitter), Discord, blogs and slides

Instagram story: downloads a story image you can add from your phone.
Post on X: downloads the image and opens a post with your caption, ready for you to attach it.
Copy ranking link: anyone who opens the link sees your exact ranking, then gets a "Rank your own" button.
Copy as text: a plain numbered list, perfect for comments and chats.
Download image: save the picture directly. On a phone you can also press and hold the image to save it.

The ranking link is the most fun way to start a debate: send it to a friend, let them see your list, then challenge them to rank the same squad and compare.

Step 6: Compare With the Community

Every finished full-squad ranking is added anonymously to that squad's community ranking. Open it with the "Community ranking" button on the squad page.

Unlock threshold: stats appear once a squad has at least 5 full-squad rankings. Before that, you will see how many more are needed.
One per device: sorting again replaces your previous ranking, so nobody can flood the results.
Nothing personal is collected: contributions are anonymous.

Once unlocked, the community page shows:

Fan favourite: the player most often ranked #1, with the percentage.
Most divisive: the player fans split on, loved at the top and placed at the bottom.
Usually last: the player who appears most often in the bottom three.
Where you differ most: your rank vs. everyone's rank for the players you disagree on.
The full community list: average, best and worst rank for every player.

This is where Player Sorter becomes a social game. You might discover you agree with the crowd on most of your top ten, or that you are the only fan who rates a certain full-back so highly.

How Many Matchups Will You Play?

The setup screen always shows the maximum number of matchups for your current selection. Player Sorter uses the worst-case merge-sort formula, so the real number is often lower.

Players included	Max matchups	Typical scenario
5	8	Goalkeepers or a short forward line
8	17	One position group
12	33	Attack plus midfield
16	49	Everyone except defenders
24	89	A smaller full squad
26	99	A World Cup squad
29	114	The largest club squads

Compare that with comparing every pair: 26 players would need 325 head-to-heads. Merge sort cuts that by about two thirds while still producing a complete, consistent order.

Pro Tips to Play Better

1. Decide your criterion before the first matchup. "Best right now" and "my favorite" produce very different lists. Choose one.

2. Trust your first instinct. The game works best with quick answers. If you think for more than ten seconds, it is probably close enough to call a tie, or your gut already picked.

3. Use ties sparingly. Ties are honest when two players really feel equal. Used too often, they flatten your ranking and make the top ten less meaningful.

4. Leave out players you don't know. If a squad has youth players you have never seen, switch them off in setup rather than guessing. Your result becomes more accurate, though it won't count toward the community ranking.

5. Use the keyboard on desktop. ← → ↓ and Backspace let you play without moving the mouse, which keeps your rhythm and your focus.

6. Undo immediately. If you misclick, press Backspace straight away. Fixing one choice is easy; trying to "make up for it" later distorts the result.

7. Rank in one sitting if you can. Your opinion can shift between Monday and Saturday, especially after a big match. A single session gives the most consistent list. If you must stop, use "Save & exit".

8. Re-rank after the season. Sort the same squad in August and in May. Comparing the two rankings is a surprisingly good way to see how your view of the team changed.

Game Modes You Can Invent

Player Sorter gives you the tools; how you play is up to you. A few challenges fans enjoy:

Position draft: rank only the forwards, then only the midfielders, and build your ideal starting XI from the top of each list.
Club vs. country: rank a club squad, then rank the national team of its biggest star and see where they land in each.
Friend duel: you and a friend rank the same squad separately, then swap ranking links and count how many of your top five match.
Women's game spotlight: try a women's club such as the Arsenal Women player sorter and compare your ranking with the community favourite.
World Cup predictor: rank all five 2026 national squads before the tournament and revisit them after the final.
Blind honesty mode: rank without looking at the progress bar or the summary, then compare your result with how you would have ordered the squad from memory.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Changing the question midway. Starting with "best player" and drifting into "favorite player" is the number one cause of strange results.
Overusing the tie button. It is not a skip button. If you tie everyone in the middle of the squad, you end up with a long block of "12=" that tells you nothing.
Filtering and expecting to see community stats. Partial rankings are personal only. Rank the full squad if you want to appear in the crowd numbers.
Clearing browser data mid-session. Progress is stored locally. Clearing site data, or switching to another browser or device, starts you from scratch.
Ignoring undo. One wrong click near the top of the list can move a player several places. Undo is there for a reason.

FAQ

How do you play Player Sorter?

Pick a squad on the home page, choose which positions or players to include, press "Start sorting", and choose the player you prefer in each matchup. When the progress bar reaches 100%, you get your full ranking, which you can share as an image, text or link.

Is Player Sorter free to play?

Yes. Player Sorter is free, runs in your browser, and does not require an account or download.

How long does one game take?

A full squad of 24 to 29 players needs at most 89 to 114 matchups, usually five to ten minutes. Filtering to one position group takes about a minute.

What are the keyboard controls?

Left arrow picks the left player, right arrow picks the right player, down arrow calls a tie, and Backspace undoes the last choice.

Can I pause and continue later?

Yes. Press "Save & exit" or simply close the page. When you return to the same squad in the same browser, press "Resume" to continue where you stopped.

What if I don't know one of the players?

The best option is to leave that player out on the setup screen before you start. If they appear mid-game, you can call a tie, but skipping them in setup gives a cleaner result.

Why doesn't my ranking appear in the community ranking?

Only full-squad rankings count, and only one ranking per device. If you filtered out positions or players, your result stays personal. The community stats also unlock only after a squad reaches 5 full-squad rankings.

On the result screen, press "Share ranking", choose Top 3, Top 10 or Full squad, pick a shape (Story, Post, Square or Wide), and then post to Instagram or X, copy a link, copy as text, or download the image.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. The layout adapts to phones and tablets, and every action is a simple tap.

Ready to Play?

You now know every move in the game: pick a squad, set your line-up, answer "Who do you prefer?" round after round, and share the ranking that comes out the other side. The first squad takes a few minutes; after that, most players can't stop at one.

Kick-off is one click away. Pick your squad and start sorting.