I have 2 picks:
PES (yeah it was big in Latin America and Asia but never truly beat FIFA popularity worldwide except in the early 2000s), if I had to pick a specific version, is either PES 2010 or 2013, 2016 was also great.
FIFA street 1: Almost 2 decades later and still think it’s the best FIFA game ever, not even the street sequels were able to surpass it. FIFA 11 and 13 were good too but those aren’t underrated in any way.
Edit: wow y’all old lol
Mutant League Football on the Genesis. The then-current Madden engine, but all the players are pulled from some sort of sci-fi horror comedy, while still somehow very tuned in to the history of the NFL.
Bribe ref to stall your opponent’s drive.
Murder ref to get things back on track.
Avoid those land mines!
Mutant League Hockey was also a lot of fun, also based on their NHL engine on Genesis back then. Great choice. There was some sort of spiritual successor to Mutant League Football that came out recently if I’m remembering correctly…?