Nothing beats the thrill of trash-talking your best mate after you score a last-minute winner in a football sim, so it’s no wonder so many players ask can you play eFootball 2023 with friends. Whether you want to team up for co-op matches against random players, go head-to-head in a private 1v1, or run a full 11v11 lobby with your entire friend group, eFootball 2023 has a range of multiplayer options to suit every playstyle. I’ve spent hundreds of hours testing every multiplayer mode in the game across console, PC and mobile, so I’ll walk you through exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid the most common frustrations that pop up when playing with people you know.
What Multiplayer Modes Let You Play eFootball 2023 with Friends?
eFootball 2023 offers far more multiplayer options than many players realize, with modes built for every size of friend group and play preference. You don’t have to stick to basic 1v1 matches unless you want to, and most modes let you customize rules to fit your group’s vibe, from turning off offside calls to extending match length for longer, more competitive games. The most popular modes for playing with friends include:
- Private 1v1 Matches: Go head-to-head against a single friend across any platform you both own, with full control over team selection, stadium, match length and rule sets.
- 2v2/3v3 Co-op: Team up with one or two friends to take on other groups of players online, with each person controlling a subset of your team or a single fixed player if you prefer.
- Full Private Lobbies: Host lobbies for up to 22 players to run custom leagues, tournaments or casual 11v11 matches with your entire friend group, no random players allowed.
- Dream Team Co-op: Combine your custom Dream Team squads with friends to take on challenging AI opponents or other player co-op groups for special in-game rewards.
Mobile players have a small limitation here: full 11v11 private lobbies are not supported on iOS and Android, but all other modes work exactly the same as they do on console and PC. You can also switch between platforms mid-session if you link your Konami ID, so you can start a match on your console at home and finish a quick co-op game on your phone while you’re waiting for a bus if you want.
How to Set Up a Friend Match in eFootball 2023 Step-by-Step
The setup process for playing with friends is pretty straightforward, but there are a few small steps that a lot of players miss that lead to frustrating errors. First, make sure every person you want to play with has linked their Konami ID to their game account, and that you’ve added each other on the in-game Konami friend list, not just your platform’s native friend list. This is the only way to send crossplay invites, so it’s non-negotiable if you have friends on different devices.
Once you’re all added as Konami friends, just head to the main menu, select the “Friend Match” option, choose to either host a new lobby or join an existing one, adjust your rule settings to your group’s preference, and send invites to everyone you want to join. If you’re hosting, you can set the lobby to private so no random players can join, and you can kick anyone who causes trouble or breaks your group’s rules.
If you run into a 10-15 minute wait while your friends sort out their settings or update their game, you don’t have to sit staring at the menu screen wasting time. Lots of players use short, low-effort games to pass the gap between matches so they don’t lose their competitive focus, and many casual players enjoy loading up Spin Winner for a quick, low-stakes break while they wait for their lobby to fill up. It’s a fun way to kill a few minutes without getting sucked into a longer game that will make your friends wait for you once they’re ready.
One pro tip I always share: if you’re playing co-op with newer players, turn on the “assisted controls” option for the lobby so they don’t feel overwhelmed by advanced mechanics right away. You can always turn it off later once everyone gets more comfortable, and it makes the game far more accessible for people who don’t play every single day.
Crossplay Compatibility for Playing eFootball 2023 with Friends
One of the biggest advantages of eFootball 2023 over older football sims is its full crossplay support across almost all platforms. PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam PC, iOS and Android can all play together with no restrictions, outside of a few regional limits in areas where crossplay is disabled by local regulations.
You don’t need a paid online subscription to play with friends on mobile or PC, but console players will need an active PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription to access online multiplayer. That’s a standard requirement for most console online games, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to most players, but it’s worth checking if you have friends who only play their console offline occasionally.
Progress on your Dream Team carries over across all platforms as long as you use the same Konami ID, so you can switch between playing on your console at home and your phone when you’re out without losing any of your unlocked players or items. That’s a huge plus if you often play with friends who use different devices, as you don’t have to rebuild your squad from scratch every time you switch platforms.
If you want to avoid crossplay for any reason, you can turn it off in the game settings, but that will limit the number of friends you can play with to only those on the exact same platform as you. Most players leave it on, as it opens up far more options for playing with people you know, regardless of what device they own.
Common Issues When Playing eFootball 2023 with Friends (And How to Fix Them)
Even with how polished eFootball 2023’s multiplayer is, there are a few common issues that pop up regularly when playing with friends, but almost all of them have simple fixes that take less than a minute to implement. The most frequent complaint I hear from players is that they can’t see their friend’s lobby when they try to join. If this happens to you, first check that crossplay is enabled in your settings, that you’ve added each other as Konami friends, and that everyone has updated their game to the latest available version. Outdated game versions are the number one cause of this error, so it’s always the first thing to check.
Lag in private lobbies is another common issue, especially if you have players joining from different parts of the world or using mobile data. You don’t need to be friends on your console or platform to play together as long as you’ve added each other via Konami ID, but you do need a stable internet connection for everyone in the lobby. To fix lag, make sure the host of the lobby is the person with the fastest internet connection, turn off all background downloads on every device in the lobby, and ask everyone to avoid using mobile data if possible.
If you’re trying to play Dream Team co-op and get a “squad mismatch” error, that’s because all players need to have a squad with an overall rating within 200 points of each other to join the same match. This is designed to prevent unfair matches where one player has a full squad of max-rated legends and other players have basic starter squads. You can fix this by either adjusting your squads to be closer in rating, or playing a different mode that doesn’t have this restriction.
Invites not sending is another small issue that pops up occasionally. If this happens, ask everyone to check their in-game privacy settings to make sure they have invites from friends enabled, not set to “no one” or “only platform friends”. That’s almost always the root cause of missing invites, and it takes 10 seconds to fix.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you play eFootball 2023 with friends is a resounding yes, with more modes and crossplay support than most other football sims on the market. The setup process is straightforward once you have your Konami ID linked, and most common issues are easy to fix with a quick check of your settings or internet connection. Whether you’re looking for casual 1v1 matches to settle bets with your mates, or full co-op leagues to run with your entire friend group, you’ll find a mode that fits what you’re looking for. Just don’t get too mad if your friend scores a last-minute bicycle kick to beat you – it’s all part of the fun.