If you’ve ever lost a close ranked match because your star striker ran out of stamina in the 75th minute and you fumbled through the menu trying to swap him out, you’re not alone. Thousands of new players struggle with the slightly unintuitive substitution system when they first pick up the game. Learning how to substitute in eFootball 2023 isn’t just a basic control skill, it’s one of the most underrated tactical tools you can use to turn losing games around. I’ve been playing the eFootball (formerly PES) series for 7 years, and I still adjust my substitution strategy every few weeks to keep up with meta shifts and new gameplay updates.
How to Substitute in eFootball 2023: Basic Controls for Console and Mobile
The exact steps to make a substitution vary slightly depending on what platform you’re playing on, but the core process is the same across all devices. First, you can only make a substitution during a break in play: that includes throw-ins, goal kicks, half time, or when the ball goes out of play for any other reason. You can only make a maximum of 5 substitutions per standard match, split across 3 substitution windows plus half time, to align with real-world football rules.
For console players (PlayStation or Xbox), press the pause button during a break in play, navigate to the “Squad” tab, select the player you want to take off, then pick your replacement from the bench. You can also use the quick substitution feature: pre-select up to 3 subs before the match starts, and you’ll get a one-press prompt to swap them when the ball goes out of play, no full menu navigation needed. If you’re playing an online match, you only have 10 seconds to confirm your substitutions before the game resumes automatically, so quick subs are a huge time saver for ranked play.
For mobile players, tap the small menu icon in the top right corner during a break in play, select “Substitute”, then drag and drop players between your starting 11 and the bench. You can save pre-set substitution groups in your squad management menu before the match to make swaps even faster. Once you know how to substitute in eFootball 2023, you can start tailoring your swaps to fit your specific playstyle instead of just following generic advice.
Tactical Rules to Follow When Making Substitutions
Even if you know how to substitute in eFootball 2023, making bad choices when swapping players can cost you matches. A lot of new players make the mistake of only substituting players when their stamina bar is completely red, but that means you’re playing with a underperforming player for 10 to 15 minutes before you make the swap. Swap out players when their stamina drops below 30% for the best results, because their speed, passing accuracy, and tackling stats start to drop sharply once they pass that threshold.
Always consider the match context when making substitutions too. If you’re 1-0 up in the 80th minute, don’t bring on another attacking striker just because they have a higher overall rating. Swap out your wingers for defensive full backs or holding midfielders to shore up your defense and see out the win. If you’re chasing a goal late in the match, bring on pacey forwards who can run behind tired opposition defenders, even if their overall rating is lower than the player you’re taking off.
There are a few common substitution mistakes that even intermediate players make regularly:
- Substituting players too early in the first half, unless they pick up an injury or an early yellow card that puts them at risk of a sending off
- Wasting all your substitution windows before the 70th minute, leaving you no options for late-game tactical changes or injury cover
- Bringing on players out of position just because they have a higher overall rating, which will tank their in-game performance by 20% or more
- Forgetting to adjust your team tactics after making a substitution, like switching to a more defensive formation after bringing on extra defenders
How to Set Up Auto-Substitutions for Hands-Off Gameplay
If you’re the kind of player who gets so focused on attacking that you forget to check your players’ stamina bars, auto-substitutions are a great quality of life feature to use. You can set them up before the match starts in the squad management menu, and the game will automatically swap out players based on the rules you set. You can choose to have players substituted when their stamina drops below a certain percentage, when they pick up a yellow card, or a combination of both.
You can also pre-select which players come on for each position, so you don’t end up with the AI putting a central defender up front by mistake. This is especially useful for new players who are still learning the controls, or for offline matches against the AI where you don’t need to make hyper-specific tactical adjustments.
That said, I don’t recommend using auto-substitutions for online ranked matches. The AI doesn’t account for match context, so if you’re chasing a goal in the 85th minute, it might still swap out your star striker for a midfielder to preserve stamina, which is the last thing you want. You can turn auto-substitutions off at any point during the match if you want to take full control of your swaps.
Advanced Substitution Tricks to Win More Ranked Matches
Once you’ve mastered the basics of swapping players, you can use substitutions as a tactical weapon to catch your opponent off guard. For example, if you’ve been playing a narrow 4-3-3 formation for the first 60 minutes of the match, you can swap out a holding midfielder for a winger and switch to a wide 4-2-4 formation to overwhelm your opponent’s full backs, who are likely already tired from 60 minutes of defending.
If you have a player with the “Super Sub” trait, always bring them on after the 70th minute, because their in-game stats get a 15% boost for the last 20 minutes of the match, making them far more likely to score late goals or create game-changing chances. A lot of low-rated Super Sub players are actually more useful late in matches than higher-rated players without the trait, so don’t sleep on them when building your squad.
Another little-known trick is to use substitution windows to break your opponent’s momentum. If they’re creating chance after chance and you’re struggling to keep up, make a substitution even if you don’t need to swap any players, just to pause the game for a few seconds and break their rhythm. It’s a completely legal tactic, and it works more often than you’d think. Just don’t overdo it, because spamming substitutions every two minutes will get you reported for bad sportsmanship, and you could face a temporary ban from online play if you get reported too many times.
Mastering how to substitute in eFootball 2023 takes a little practice, but it’s one of the fastest ways to improve your win rate without having to learn complicated skill moves or spend hours grinding for better players. Start with the basic controls first, then experiment with different tactical approaches until you find what works for your playstyle. Even small changes, like swapping out tired players 10 minutes earlier than you usually do, can make a huge difference in how your team performs late in matches. Test new substitution strategies in offline friendlies first before you take them into ranked matches, and you’ll be climbing the leaderboards in no time.