I still laugh thinking about the time three of my friends drove 45 minutes to my apartment for an eFootball marathon, only to spend the first hour scrolling through random menus and Googling why our second controller wouldn’t connect. eFootball 2022’s interface isn’t the most intuitive for multiplayer, especially if you’re used to older PES titles that laid out co-op options front and center. If you’re wondering how to play eFootball 2022 with friends without the same frustrating menu headaches, this guide breaks down every possible setup, plus fixes for the most common issues that pop up mid-game. I’ve tested every method here across PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, so you can skip the trial and error and jump straight to playing.
Set Up Local Couch Co-op for eFootball 2022 Without Extra Downloads
Local play is perfect for when you have friends over, and you don’t need an internet connection or PlayStation Plus/Xbox Live Gold to use it. The biggest mistake most people make is heading straight to the “Quick Match” tab, which only supports single player offline. You’ll need to navigate to the “Friendlies” tab on the main menu first, which is tucked between the “Dream Team” and “Training” icons.
Once you’re in Friendlies, select “Local Match” and you’ll be prompted to connect your controllers. Most modern controllers will sync automatically, but if you’re using a third-party controller on PC, you may need to map the buttons first in the settings menu. You can have up to four players total on local play, either split into two teams or all playing on the same side against the AI.
One small hack I swear by for local play: Turn off team switching assistance before you start. If you’re playing on the same team as a friend, auto-switching will often send you both for the same ball, leading to silly mistakes that cost you goals. Turning it off lets you pick which player you control manually, so you can split roles naturally. If you want to make local play more interesting for larger groups, you can rotate players every 10 minutes of match time, or set a rule that anyone who concedes a silly own goal has to swap spots with the next person waiting to play. I’ve run these kinds of casual tournaments at house parties before, and they’re always a hit even with people who don’t play soccer games regularly.
How to Play eFootball 2022 with Friends Online: Cross-Platform and Private Match Setup
Online play takes a few extra steps, but it’s worth it if your friends live across the country or can’t make it to your place. First, make sure all of you have the latest version of the game installed — even a small patch difference will stop you from being able to join the same lobby. You also need an active subscription to your console’s online service if you’re playing on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X/S, but PC players don’t need any extra subscriptions for online play.
If you’re still figuring out how to play eFootball 2022 with friends online for the first time, start with a few casual 1v1 matches before you try 3v3 co-op, so you can get used to the online connection speed before adding more players to the mix. To set up a private online match, head back to the Friendlies tab and select “Online Match” instead of Local. From there, you can create a private lobby and set a password to share with your friends. You can adjust settings like match length, difficulty, offside rules, and even which teams are available before anyone joins. If you want to play cross-platform, you’ll need to turn on cross-play matching in your account settings first, and add friends using their eFootball ID instead of their console gamertag.
You don’t have to stick to 1v1 matches online, either. You can have up to three players per team, so you and two friends can team up against another group of three for a co-op 3v3 match against real players. I’ve found this mode is way more fun for casual groups than competitive 1v1, since no one person feels responsible if you lose a match. If you don’t feel like setting up a private lobby, you can also join public co-op matches with friends, where you team up to play against random players from around the world. This is a great way to practice if you’re planning to enter any eFootball 2022 community tournaments later on, as it lets you get used to playing with other people against skilled opponents.
Fix Common Issues That Ruin Multiplayer eFootball 2022 Matches
Even if you follow all the setup steps correctly, you’ll probably run into a few common issues with eFootball 2022 multiplayer. I’ve dealt with all of these dozens of times, so these fixes work 9 times out of 10 without you having to restart the game or your console:
- “Failed to connect to lobby” error: If you get this when trying to join a friend’s online lobby, first check that you both have cross-play turned on if you’re on different consoles. If that’s already enabled, try restarting your router, as a strict NAT type is almost always the cause of this error.
- Controller not detected in local play: If a second controller won’t register, go to your console’s system settings first to make sure it’s connected properly, not just the in-game settings. For PC players, make sure you’re not using Steam Input for eFootball 2022, as it often conflicts with the game’s native controller support.
- Lag or input delay in online matches: If you’re experiencing lag, close any other apps or devices that are using your internet connection first. If the lag persists, lower the game’s graphics settings slightly, and turn off background data sharing in the eFootball settings menu to free up more bandwidth.
- Cross-platform friends not showing up: If you added a friend via their eFootball ID and they don’t appear in your friends list, make sure you both have your account privacy settings set to “Public” for friend requests. You can also try searching for their ID again to send a second request, as the first one sometimes gets stuck in the system.
If none of these fixes work, you can try verifying the game files if you’re on PC, or clearing the cache on your console. I’ve only had to do that twice in three years of playing eFootball 2022, so the fixes above almost always resolve the problem quickly. One thing to note: eFootball 2022’s servers are a lot less active now than they were when the game first launched, so you may have slightly longer wait times for public online matches, but private lobbies still work perfectly 100% of the time if you’re playing with people you know.
Fun Game Modes to Try With Friends Beyond Standard 11v11 Matches
Once you’ve got your multiplayer setup working, you don’t have to stick to boring standard 11v11 matches every time. There are a ton of underrated game modes in eFootball 2022 that are way more fun for groups, especially if you have players of different skill levels playing together.
First, try 3v3 co-op mode, where each player controls a single outfield player instead of the whole team. This is perfect for casual players who don’t want to worry about managing substitutions or formations the whole match. You can assign positions before the game starts, so newer players can play as a striker and just focus on scoring goals, while more experienced players can take over midfield or defense.
Another great mode is the “Random Team Select” challenge, where you set the game to randomly assign you and your friend teams from the lowest-rated leagues in the game. It levels the playing field completely, so even if one of you is a much better player, you both have to work with bad teams full of players you’ve never heard of. I’ve had some of my funniest eFootball matches doing this, where both of us were conceding ridiculous goals left and right. For players who love building their own squads, you can also use your Dream Team private matches with friends. That lets you show off the players you’ve unlocked and upgraded, but make sure everyone agrees to use teams of similar overall rating first, otherwise the match will feel one-sided and no one will have fun. I usually cap the overall rating at 80 for Dream Team matches with friends, so no one can bring a stacked team full of 99-rated players and steamroll everyone else.
If you want to make things competitive, you can set up a small tournament with your friends, with a silly prize for the winner like buying the next round of snacks. eFootball 2022 has a built-in tournament creator mode that lets you set up brackets automatically, so you don’t have to track scores manually. You can even set rules like the loser of each match has to pick the next team the winner plays against, to add extra chaos.
At the end of the day, eFootball 2022’s clunky menu system doesn’t have to stop you from having a great time playing with people you care about. Once you know where to find the co-op and multiplayer settings, you can set up a match in under a minute, whether you’re playing on the couch together or connecting from opposite sides of the world. Next time you’re planning a game night, you won’t have to waste time fumbling through menus now that you know how to play eFootball 2022 with friends, no technical expertise required. Just grab your controller, pick your team, and have fun.