While traditionalists often point to 19th century England as the birthplace of modern soccer, purists will tell you that the game is far older than that.

The ancient Chinese played a sport they called cuju – a game which involved a leather ball and attempting to score by kicking it through a hole in silk cloth strung up by two poles. While this is a far cry from the large, seven meter nets the game employs today, it undoubtedly had traits of the modern version of soccer. Conversely, on the opposite side of the world in what is today central and South America, native tribes played a similar game – albeit with a rubber ball. Also, instead of the silk cloth goals the Chinese used, the Native Americans hung rings at various levels on the field, which they would attempt to kick the rubber ball through.

As the middle ages approached, the roots of modern soccer had found their way into present day Europe, with the French playing La Choule (a version of soccer) after church on Sunday’s. In addition to kicking the ball, however, the French game was brutal and they played with all parts of their body’s, not just their feet. This game likely split into modern soccer and rugby, as tackling was permitted. Likewise, other lands’ had found the game, and some territories would pit entire villages against one another.

For a brief period of time, beginning in 1314, London had banned the sport, as some politicians found the game to be too harsh. Ultimately, though, the game persevered – and in an unlikely place; the school yard. English schoolboys never gave the sport up, and schools refused to ban the game, as they saw it as a great way to keep the young men in shape. Interestingly, there is a line of thinking that says adults, too, helped keep the game intact. At public beheadings, it is said, the executioner would toss the severed head into the crowd, who would kick it around as a celebration of the purification of society. Written documentation has never been revealed of this act, although there are a few illustrations depicting public crowds kicking severed heads around.

At the turn of the 19th century, European versions of soccer had spread from the school yard to the work place, with factory workers forming their own teams. A problem arose with the growing popularity, though; each school and factory team had their own rules of the game, so playing each other was becoming increasingly more complex. In 1863, several clubs from the London area met in the Freemasons Tavern, where they formed the first Football Association. The purpose of this board was to govern the sport in general, and to lay out rules for organized matches. The rules were called the Laws of the Game. This document is widely regarded as the most important in the history of soccer, as it is still used today as the games constitution. By 1930, the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) was established, and governed the sport on an international level.

Based on the modern version of the sport (since the advent of FIFA), the list of top soccer playing nations could be widely disputed. Here is a list (from ten to one), ranked purely off of modern World Cup/Olympic match play: Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Spain, England, France, Uruguay, Germany, Argentina, Italy and Brazil.

Granted, most of these nations are European, however, three of the top five hails from South America, a sign that the historical use of a rubber ball in their version of soccer may have yielded more skill with today’s inflatable ball.