Last month, I dug out my old copy of eFootball 2022 after seeing a friend post about their custom 5-a-side league on Instagram. The first question I had, same as a lot of lapsed players, was can you play eFootball 2022 with friends online without jumping through a dozen confusing hoops. I spent a week testing matches across PS5, PC, and mobile to figure out exactly what works, what doesn't, and how to get your friend group set up for casual or competitive matches without frustration. This guide covers every detail you need to know, from basic setup to fixing annoying connection drops mid-match.
Can You Play eFootball 2022 With Friends Online: Official Support Breakdown
The short answer is yes, Konami fully supports online friend play for all versions of eFootball 2022, no paid DLC or premium subscription required for core match access. The feature rolled out with the 1.1.0 update in late 2022, after widespread player feedback that the initial launch lacked basic multiplayer options for casual groups. You can play 1v1 matches, 2v2 co-op where you and a friend control different players on the same team, or even 3v3 small-sided matches for larger groups.
Konami officially supports online friend play for all console, PC, and mobile versions of eFootball 2022, but there are limits depending on what platform you and your friends use. Mobile players can only connect with other mobile users, for example, and crossplay between different console ecosystems has strict rules we'll cover later. You don't need to have a high-level team or unlocked special players to join friend matches either, you can use default teams or custom squads depending on your group's preferences.
One thing to note: if you have the base launch version of eFootball 2022 that never received updates, you won't see the friend match option. You'll need to install the latest available patch for your platform first, which is free to download from your platform's store page.
Step-by-Step Setup for Online Friend Matches in eFootball 2022
Setting up a friend match takes less than two minutes once you know where to look, and the process is almost identical across all console and PC versions. Mobile has a few small differences, but the core steps are the same. I've walked dozens of my less tech-savvy friends through this process, and none of them have had issues following these steps:
- Launch eFootball 2022 and sign in to your platform's online network (PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, or Konami ID for PC and mobile)
- Navigate to the Friend Match tab from the main multiplayer menu, located right below the ranked match option and above the co-op vs AI menu
- Select "Create Room" and adjust match settings to your group's preferences: you can change half length, turn fouls off for casual play, restrict teams to national sides only, or turn off special player abilities for a more level playing field
- Share the 8-digit alphanumeric room code with your friend, or send a direct invite through your platform's native friend list if you don't want to type out a code
- Have your friend select "Join Room" and enter the code, or accept your direct invite to load into the pre-match lobby where you can pick teams before kickoff
For mobile players, you'll need to add friends via their Konami ID first before you can send invites, you can't connect directly through Google Play Games or Apple Game Center friends lists. To add a friend on mobile, go to the Friends tab, select "Add Friend via Konami ID", enter their ID, and wait for them to accept your request before creating a room.
You don't need a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription to play friend matches on console, which is a big difference from other popular football games like FIFA. That makes eFootball 2022 a great pick for casual groups that don't want to pay for premium online subscriptions just to play together a few times a month.
Crossplay Rules for eFootball 2022 Friend Matches
Crossplay is one of the most common questions I get about eFootball 2022 friend matches, and the rules are pretty straightforward once you break them down. I tested this personally earlier this month when I tried to play with a friend who uses an Xbox Series X while I'm on PS5, and learned first hand what works and what doesn't.
Crossplay is supported within the same platform family: that means PS4 players can play with PS5 players, and Xbox One players can play with Xbox Series X/S players with no extra setup required. The room code will work across both generations of the same console brand, and you won't notice any performance differences between players on old and new hardware.
If you and your friend are on different console ecosystems, you won't be able to play eFootball 2022 online together. PlayStation and Xbox don't support crossplay for this title, and PC players can only play with other PC players, no crossplay with console or mobile. Mobile players are limited to playing with other mobile users, regardless of if they're on Android or iOS, that's the only cross-platform support outside of same-family consoles.
One workaround if you're on different platforms: if one of you has a copy of the game on mobile, you can both play on mobile instead of console, that's what I ended up doing with my Xbox-owning friend. It's not as smooth as console play, but it works well enough for casual matches if you don't have another option.
Common Issues When Playing eFootball 2022 Online With Friends (And Fixes)
Even if you follow all the setup steps perfectly, you might run into a few common issues that a lot of players face. I ran into almost all of these during my testing, so I've figured out the fastest fixes for each one that don't require you to spend an hour troubleshooting.
The most common issue is a room code that doesn't work. 9 times out of 10, this is either because the room creator closed the lobby by accident before you joined, or you mixed up similar characters like 0 and O, or 1 and I when entering the code. Room codes are not case sensitive, so you don't have to worry about capital letters, but double check that you entered all 8 characters correctly. If it still doesn't work, have the room creator make a new lobby and send you the new code.
The most common fix for sudden disconnections mid-match is to restart your router and make sure no other devices on your network are streaming or downloading large files. eFootball 2022 doesn't use a ton of bandwidth, but it needs a stable connection, and even a short spike in traffic from a Netflix stream or game download can kick you out of the match. If you keep getting disconnected, try connecting your console or PC to your router with an ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi, that fixed my constant disconnects when I was playing on my bedroom PS5.
If you send a direct invite to a friend and they never receive it, try sending the room code instead. Platform invite systems often have delays during peak gaming hours, especially on weekends, and the room code works even if the invite system is glitching. If you don't see the Friend Match tab at all, you're running an outdated version of the game, head to your platform's store and install the latest free patch to unlock the feature.
For players on restricted networks like school or work Wi-Fi, you might need to enable port forwarding for Konami's servers to get friend matches to work. You can find the exact port numbers for your platform on Konami's official support site, and most routers have a simple port forwarding menu in their settings page.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you play eFootball 2022 with friends online is a resounding yes, as long as you account for crossplay limits and follow the simple setup steps. My friend group has been playing 2v2 co-op matches every Sunday for the past month, and we haven't run into any major issues once we got the initial setup out of the way. If you want to make matches more fun, try setting up a small league with your group, track wins and losses over a few weeks, and give a silly prize to the team with the most points at the end. It adds a ton of replay value to a game that's already perfect for casual group play.