Viva Football is the first game to allow a player to take part and re-write history in all Football World Cups (including the qualifying stage) from 1958 until 1998. Deal with players retiring, new talent emerging and the geopolitical changes of the 90s as the Iron Curtain opens and several new national teams emerge.

Instead of using commentators, Viva relies on PlayerChat, which means only the sounds of the stadium - players and crowd - will be audible. 1035 squads (some with individual shirts) and 16554 players with different attributes (and some with personalized textures and models) are included in the game.