From Keira Knightley bending it like Beckham to Pelé doing a cameo, there are plenty of iconic moments in football movies you can watch ahead of the European Football Championships. Beginning on Friday 14 June, the tournament will take place in the major stadiums across Germany, including in cities Hamburg, Frankfurt and Leipzig. England’s first game will be against Serbia on 16 June.

The beautiful game combined with the silver screen has created some brilliant films over the years. But movies about football are not always the most popular. Perhaps it’s because real fans would rather simply watch the games themselves (there’s enough drama, after all), or because the world’s biggest movie market, the US, just doesn’t care about “soccer” as much as Brits do.

However, before the competition kickstarts, fans may be looking for ways to prepare for the summer of fun (or heartbreak) – and these five films will be sure to get you excited...

The Mean Machine (2001) It’s not often you see a British remake of an American film. This one takes inspiration from the classic American football movie, The Longest Yard , and it’s done with style. It stars former Wimbledon and Chelsea footballer turned actor, Vinnie Jones , alongside a variety of classic British acting talent such as Danny Dyer and Jason Statham.

The story follows disgraced Ex-England football captain Danny Meehan, who gets sent to prison after fighting with the police. While inside, he leads an unlikely gr.