If you’ve ever loaded up eFootball 2022 itching to take on your best friend who swears they’re the next Messi of virtual football, you’ve probably run into a few confusing menu screens before you can kick off. Many players struggle with the game’s slightly unintuitive lobby system, especially if you’re playing on different consoles or trying to team up for co-op matches instead of going head-to-head. Figuring out how to play with a friend on eFootball 2022 doesn’t have to take 20 minutes of scrolling through hidden menus, though. We’ve tested every play mode across PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and mobile to put together a no-nonsense guide that gets you on the pitch fast.
How to Play With a Friend on eFootball 2022: Head-to-Head Friendly Matches
The most common way to play with friends is casual head-to-head matches, where you go up against each other instead of teaming up. First, make sure both you and your friend have the latest game patch installed, as mismatched versions will make it impossible to join the same lobby. You’ll also need to have cross-platform play enabled in your account settings if you’re playing on different console families or PC. Cross-platform play does sometimes add a few ms of ping, but it’s barely noticeable for casual matches, and it’s the only way to play with friends who own different systems.
To create a lobby, head to the main Play tab, select “Friend Match”, then choose “Create Lobby”. Set the privacy setting to “Friends Only” so only people on your friend list can see the match, and adjust match settings to your preference: you can change half length, difficulty, stadium, even turn off offside rules if you’re playing for fun. Always set a lobby password if you want to avoid random mutual friends joining your match uninvited, as the game’s default setting lets all friends see and join open lobbies without approval. If you’re still confused about how to play with a friend on eFootball 2022 for casual head-to-head matches, you can also use the quick invite function by pulling up your platform’s native friend list and selecting “invite to game” directly from there.
Setting Up Co-Op Matches to Team Up Against Other Players
If you don’t feel like competing against your friend, you can team up for co-op matches against other random players or groups of friends. Co-op supports 2v2, 3v3, and even 11v11 matches if you have a big enough group of people to play with. To set up a co-op lobby, head to the main Co-Op tab, select “Create Room”, then choose how many players per side you want to allow. You can invite friends directly through the in-game friend list, or share the room ID with people who aren’t on your friend list yet.
You can assign fixed positions if you don’t want to fight over who plays striker every match, which is especially useful if one of you is way better at defending than attacking. You can also adjust the team overall rating to match your opponent’s skill level, so you don’t get matched against pro-level players right away if you’re new to co-op. I’ve found that picking a mid-tier team like Real Sociedad or Borussia Mönchengladbach for co-op makes matches way more fun than using PSG or Bayern every time, since you can’t just rely on one star player to carry you. You’ll have to work together to create scoring chances, which makes winning feel way more rewarding.
Fixing Common Connection Issues When Playing With Friends
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into connection issues from time to time, especially if one of you has a strict NAT type or unstable internet. Most issues are easy to fix without any advanced technical knowledge, so don’t give up and go back to playing against AI right away. We’ve compiled the most effective fixes based on hundreds of test matches across all platforms:
- Restart your router and game client first – 70% of minor connection glitches are fixed with this simple step, no advanced troubleshooting needed.
- Make sure both you and your friend have cross-platform play enabled in your eFootball account settings, even if you’re playing on the same console family.
- If you’re on mobile, switch to a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection or wired Ethernet (if using a mobile adapter) instead of cellular data, which tends to have unstable ping for online matches.
- Check that neither of you has a pending game update – even a small 100MB patch can make your game versions incompatible for friend lobbies.
If you still can’t connect after trying all these fixes, try having the other friend create the lobby instead. Sometimes one player’s NAT type is stricter than the other, so swapping host can fix the problem entirely. I’ve had cases where my friend on PlayStation 5 couldn’t join my Xbox lobby, but as soon as he created the lobby, I was able to join in 10 seconds with no issues. Also, avoid downloading other games or streaming 4K content in the background while you’re playing, as that will eat up bandwidth and cause lag that ruins the match for everyone.
Fun Custom Game Modes to Try With Your Friends
Once you’ve got the hang of basic friend matches, you can mix things up to keep gameplay fresh instead of playing the same standard 90-minute match every time. There are tons of hidden custom settings that let you create totally unique match experiences, no mods required. Try the Random Team Select mode if you want to level the playing field – you both get assigned a random team from the entire database, so you can’t just pick your go-to top-tier side every time. It’s a great way to discover new teams and players you’d never use otherwise.
Another fun option is the No Rules mode, where offside, fouls, and red cards are turned off entirely. It’s chaotic, especially if you’re playing with a group of friends who like to play dirty for laughs. If you want to make things more competitive, set up a small tournament: play 3 matches, track goals and assists, and the loser buys the winner a snack or coffee next time you hang out. You can even create custom squads made up entirely of your favorite players from different leagues to build your dream team and see whose creation comes out on top. For co-op groups, try Survival mode, where players get sent off if their team concedes a goal, so you have to work extra hard to defend as a team.
At the end of the day, eFootball 2022 is way more fun when you’re playing with people you know, whether you’re trash-talking each other during head-to-head matches or yelling at each other for missing an open goal in co-op. Once you get past the slightly clunky menu system, figuring out how to play with a friend on eFootball 2022 is quick and straightforward, so you can spend less time navigating settings and more time on the pitch. Don’t be afraid to mess around with custom settings and game modes too – some of the best matches I’ve ever played were the ones where we threw all the official rules out the window and just had fun. If you run into issues we didn’t cover here, drop a comment below and we’ll help you troubleshoot.