There’s nothing better than settling a long-running football rivalry with a friend over a few casual or competitive matches from the comfort of your own couch. If you’ve been struggling to get your group connected for games, you’ve probably been searching for how to play against friends on eFootball 2022 without running into annoying connection errors or confusing menu loops. I’ve spent dozens of hours testing every match mode with friends across console, PC and mobile, so I’ve put together all the steps, hacks and fixes you need to get your games up and running fast. You don’t need any special settings or paid add-ons to make this work, just a copy of the game and a stable internet connection for most modes.
How to Play Against Friends on eFootball 2022: Core Match Mode Options
When you’re figuring out how to play against friends on eFootball 2022, the first choice you’ll make is what match type fits your group best. The game offers two main ways to connect with people you know: Private Match Lobbies for larger groups, and Direct Friend Challenges for quick 1v1 games. Private lobbies give you full control over match rules, while direct challenges let you jump into a game in less than 30 seconds if you’re both online at the same time. Cross-platform play is supported for most console and PC versions, but mobile players are limited to matching with other mobile users, a quirk Konami implemented to keep gameplay fair across different input types.
You can pick from a range of custom match types to fit your group’s vibe, including:
- Friendly 1v1 Standard Match: The default mode with official rules, ideal for casual or competitive rivalry games where you want to test your actual skill
- Co-op 2v2 / 3v3 Matches: Let you team up with another friend to take on another pair or trio, perfect for larger groups who don’t want to fight each other directly
- Custom Rule Matches: Adjust half length, turn off offside rules, disable player injuries, or limit team ratings to keep games balanced for new players who haven’t built up strong squads yet
My friend group usually sticks to custom rule matches with 7 minute halves and 80 overall team caps, so even our least experienced member can hold his own without getting crushed by a full team of legendary players. It takes five extra seconds to adjust these settings, and it makes the entire session way more fun for everyone involved.
Step-by-Step Setup for Cross-Platform Friend Matches
The biggest mistake new players make when trying to set up cross-platform games is only adding friends to their console or PC friends list, not their eFootball friends list. Link your Konami ID first before you try to invite anyone, otherwise cross-platform invites won’t show up at all. You can link your Konami ID from the settings menu in under a minute, just use a valid email address and make a note of your unique ID number to share with friends.
For PlayStation and Xbox users, you’ll also need to enable cross-play in your console’s privacy settings before you can match with players on other systems. This is a default safety setting for most new consoles, so it’s normal to have to toggle it on manually the first time you play a cross-platform game. Once that’s done, just open the friends tab in eFootball, search for your friend’s Konami ID, send a request, and once they accept you can invite them directly to a private lobby or send a direct match challenge.
I ran into this issue last year when I tried to play against my cousin who uses an Xbox, while I was on my PS5. We spent 10 minutes confused why our invites weren’t showing up, until we realized neither of us had linked our Konami IDs. Once we did that, we connected on the first try, no extra hassle needed.
Common Issues and Quick Fixes for Friend Matches
Even if you follow all the setup steps correctly, you’ll probably run into a few small errors every once in a while, especially if you’re playing with people across different regions or internet providers. "Failed to connect to lobby" error is the most common issue, and it almost always happens if one player has a strict NAT type. The fastest fix is to restart your router, or enable UPnP in your router’s admin settings if you’re comfortable doing that. If that doesn’t work, try having the other player host the lobby instead, since some internet providers block incoming connection requests for hosted games.
Friend not showing up in your friends list is another common headache. First, double check that you added the correct Konami ID, not their platform gamertag. If that’s right, make sure both of you have your eFootball profile set to public in the privacy settings menu. Some players set their profiles to private by default, which hides them from search results even if you have their exact ID.
Input lag or stuttering during matches can ruin even the most fun friend sessions, so fix it fast by turning off all background downloads on your device, and switching to a 5GHz WiFi connection or wired ethernet if you can. 2.4GHz WiFi is fine for browsing, but it causes massive lag for fast-paced online games like eFootball. I always ask my friends to close any streaming apps they have running in the background before we start a match, it cuts lag by almost 70% in most cases.
Tips to Keep Friend Matches Fun and Fair
Nothing kills a friend game night faster than one person dominating every match with cheap meta tactics, so set a few basic ground rules before you start playing to avoid arguments. Set ground rules before you start – if one of you is a new player, agree to limit team ratings to 80 or lower so the more experienced player doesn’t just run up the score with a full team of 99 overall legends. If you’re playing with a group of people with mixed skill levels, consider adding a handicap rule where the winner has to switch to a lower rated team for the next match.
Mix up game modes every few matches too, don’t just play 1v1 standard every time. Try a co-op match, or a silly custom rule game with no offsides and 10 minute halves to keep things light. My friend group has a rule that if someone scores 3 goals in a row using the same meta tactic, like constant through balls or cross spamming, they have to switch to a 2-star team for the next half. It keeps everyone engaged even if there’s a big skill gap between players, and no one feels like they’re wasting their time playing against someone who’s only using cheap tricks to win.
Don’t take the games too seriously, either. The point of playing with friends is to have fun, not to prove you’re the best eFootball player in the world. If you lose a match on a last minute penalty, laugh it off and move on to the next one. You’ll have way more fun, and your friends will be way more likely to want to play again another night.
At the end of the day, playing with friends is the most fun part of any sports game, and once you get past the initial setup hurdles, learning how to play against friends on eFootball 2022 opens up hours of entertainment for you and your group. Don’t get frustrated if you run into small errors on your first try – most fixes take less than a minute to implement, and the payoff of beating your best friend in a last-minute penalty shootout is well worth the small effort. Next time you’re looking for a low-effort hangout idea, fire up a custom lobby and see who comes out on top as your group’s eFootball champion.