There’s nothing better than grabbing a controller (or your phone) and facing off against a friend in a football game, right? If you’ve just booted up Konami’s free-to-play football title and your first question is can you play with friends on eFootball 2022, you’re not alone. A lot of players who transitioned from the old Pro Evolution Soccer series got confused by the revamped menu structure and cross-play rules when the game first launched, and it’s not always obvious how to jump into a match with people you know. I’ve spent hundreds of hours testing every multiplayer mode across console, PC and mobile, so I’ll break down exactly what’s possible, how to set up matches, and what to avoid to skip the frustration.
Supported Multiplayer Modes for Playing With Friends on eFootball 2022
The short answer is yes, you absolutely can play with friends on eFootball 2022, and there are multiple modes to pick from depending on how many people you want to play with and what kind of experience you’re after. Konami built the game to prioritize social play, so you don’t have to stick to random public matches if you don’t want to. Each mode has different rules, rank impacts, and player limits, so it’s worth picking the right one for your group.
You don’t need to pay for any extra DLC or premium passes to access any of these friend play modes, either. All multiplayer features are available for free to anyone with a linked Konami account, no matter what platform you’re playing on. The only exception is if you want to use custom Dream Team squads in friend matches, but you can still use default real-world teams even if you’ve never touched the Dream Team mode.
- 1v1 Friendly Matches: Up to 2 players total, no impact on your online or Dream Team rank, supports cross-platform play for all linked accounts, and lets you use custom match rules like extended half time or disabled offside calls
- 3v3 Co-Op Team Play: Up to 6 players total (3 per side), counts towards co-op seasonal rewards if you play with randoms, but has no rank penalty when you play exclusively with friends, works with both online friends and local players on the same console
- Private Tournament Lobbies: Up to 16 players total, customizable bracket structure and match rules, no rank penalties for losses, and lets you run a full knockout competition with your friend group over a few hours
I’ve run multiple private tournaments with 12 of my friends over the past couple of years, and it’s easily the most underrated mode for large groups. You can even set the match length to 6 minutes per half to keep the tournament moving quickly, which works great if you only have a couple of hours to play together.
How to Set Up a Private Lobby to Play With Friends
The process for setting up a friend match is pretty straightforward once you know where to look, but the hidden menu options trip a lot of new players up. First, you’ll need to make sure every player you want to play with has a linked Konami ID, not just a platform account. Konami ID is the only universal identifier for cross-platform friend adds, so even if you’re both on PlayStation, adding each other via Konami ID will make it easier to play together if one of you switches platforms later.
Once everyone has their accounts linked, follow these simple steps. Open the main game menu and navigate to the “Play” tab, then select “Friendly Matches” from the dropdown list. You’ll see an option to create a new private lobby, where you can set a custom 4-digit password, adjust match rules, and pick what teams are allowed. Once the lobby is created, you can share the lobby ID and password with your friends directly, or invite them from your in-game Konami friend list.
That means you don’t have to share your personal platform contact info with people if you don’t want to, either. You can just send the lobby ID and password via a group chat, and anyone with those details can join as long as they have the game installed. Just make sure you set a password if you don’t want random players joining your lobby, because public friendly lobbies are open to everyone by default.
If you want to play local co-op with friends in the same room, the process is even simpler. Just pair all your controllers to your console or PC first, then select “Local Match” from the friendly matches menu, and assign each controller to a team. You can play 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3 locally as long as you have enough controllers, no internet connection required.
Cross-Platform Play Rules for eFootball 2022 Friend Matches
One of the biggest perks of eFootball 2022 is that it supports full cross-platform play across almost every device, so you don’t have to worry about what your friends are playing on. You can play against someone on PS5 if you’re on PC, or join a co-op match with a friend who’s playing on their Android phone while you’re on Xbox Series S. There are a few small limitations to be aware of, though, so you don’t get stuck waiting for a match that won’t load.
Mobile players may experience slight input lag when matched with console or PC players, even if they have a strong internet connection. That’s because mobile touch controls have a small inherent delay compared to physical controllers, so I’d recommend sticking to controller players only if you’re playing competitive matches. For casual games, though, mobile players fit in just fine, and most people won’t notice the lag enough to care.
The other big rule is that all players need to be on the exact same game patch version to play together. Konami releases small minor patches every few weeks to fix bugs and balance gameplay, and if one of your friends hasn’t updated their game since last month, they won’t be able to see your lobby. That’s the most common issue I see people run into with cross-play, so just make sure everyone checks for updates before you try to start a match.
You also need to make sure your platform’s cross-play settings are enabled, even if you’ve already linked your Konami ID. For PlayStation and Xbox players, you can find this setting in your console’s account privacy menu, and you’ll need to turn on “allow cross-platform play” to match with people on other devices. PC players don’t have any extra settings to adjust, as cross-play is enabled by default on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Common Issues When Playing With Friends on eFootball 2022 (And Fixes)
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into a few annoying issues when trying to play with friends. I’ve dealt with all of these at least a dozen times, so I’ve got quick fixes that work for almost every case.
The most common issue is not being able to find your friend’s lobby, even if you have the correct ID and password. Always update your game to the latest patch before trying to join a friend’s lobby, as I mentioned earlier, because mismatched patch versions are the cause of 90% of these errors. If everyone is on the same patch and you still can’t see the lobby, try switching your lobby from “cross-platform enabled” to “same platform only” and back again, that usually refreshes the lobby list.
Another common problem is getting kicked out of a match mid-game with a connection timeout error. This usually happens when one player has an unstable internet connection, but there are a few quick fixes you can try. Restart your router if you keep getting connection timeouts during match loading, as this will clear any temporary network glitches that might be blocking the game’s connection. If you’re on mobile, try switching from Wi-Fi to mobile data, or vice versa, to see if that fixes the issue.
If you’re playing local co-op and one of your controllers isn’t being detected by the game, make sure you pair it to your device before you open eFootball 2022. The game doesn’t always detect controllers that are paired after the game is already running, so a quick restart of the game will usually fix this issue. You should also make sure you’re not using any third-party controller customization software if you’re on PC, as these can sometimes conflict with the game’s input detection.
For people who keep getting “failed to connect to Konami server” errors when trying to add friends, the fix is usually as simple as logging out of your Konami account and logging back in again. This resets your account connection to the servers, and 9 times out of 10 it will fix the friend request error immediately.
At the end of the day, can you play with friends on eFootball 2022? Absolutely, and there are more ways to play than most people realize, from casual 1v1 matches to full 16-player knockout tournaments. You don’t have to spend any extra money to access these features, and cross-platform support means you can play with almost anyone, no matter what device they prefer. Just remember to link your Konami ID, keep your game updated, and follow the simple steps above, and you’ll be playing against your friends in no time. If you run into any issues, try the quick fixes we covered first before you give up – most problems take less than a minute to fix if you know what to look for.