If you’ve ever spent hours grinding matches in eFootball Mobile only to get crushed by a squad with players that seem way faster, stronger, and more accurate than yours, you’re not alone. Most new players waste tons of rare training items, GP, and coins on random upgrades that don’t move the needle on their squad’s performance. Figuring out how to train players in eFootball Mobile the right way is the single biggest difference between casual players who float in Division 8 and competitive players who regularly hit Division 1 and top event leaderboards. I’ve spent over 3 years testing different training methods across multiple accounts, and I’ve narrowed down the exact steps that let you max out your favorite players without wasting resources you could spend on other parts of your squad.
Prioritize Base Player Potential and Playstyle First
Most new players make the mistake of dumping all their training resources into the first high-rated player they pull, even if that player’s potential cap is low or their playstyle doesn’t fit their squad’s formation. You don’t want to spend 3 weeks maxing out a 78-rated silver player who can only go up to 85 OVR, when you could save those items for a featured player who can hit 96+ OVR long term. Always check a player’s maximum possible OVR before you start any training sessions – you can find this by tapping the “Player Details” button on their card, then scrolling to the “Potential” tab.
Playstyle match matters just as much as raw OVR, too. If you run a quick counter formation, a slow, possession-focused striker will never perform well even if you max out all their stats. I learned this the hard way when I maxed out a 94-rated featured Harry Kane last season for my counter-attack squad, and he couldn’t keep up with through balls no matter how much I boosted his acceleration. I ended up wasting over 200 training XP and 5 rare skill items on a player I had to bench 2 weeks later.
How to Train Players in eFootball Mobile Without Wasting Valuable Resources
Training resources are surprisingly hard to grind consistently, especially if you don’t spend real money on the game. You can earn training XP, position cards, and skill items from daily login rewards, event matches, and division rewards, but you’ll never have enough to train every player in your squad at once. The best way to stretch your resources is to follow a strict priority order for every training session, so you don’t waste rare items on low-impact upgrades.
I follow this exact priority order for every player I train, and it cuts my resource waste by over 60% compared to when I first started playing:
- Core stats first for their position: For strikers, that means finishing, acceleration, and sprint speed before you touch passing or defending stats. For center backs, prioritize defending, heading, and jumping before working on their dribbling.
- Use matching training programs: A striker training program gives 30% more XP to forward players, so you’ll level them up faster while using fewer items than you would with a generic training card.
- Avoid mixing training item rarities early on: Use common training items to get a player to level 10 first, then move to rare and ultra-rare items for the higher levels where XP requirements jump significantly.
That means you don’t want to use a 5-star ultra-rare training item on a level 2 player, since it will only get them 3 levels instead of the 1 level it would get them at level 30. Many new players do this by accident, and end up having to grind extra event matches for weeks just to make up for the wasted resources. You also don’t need to train every player in your 18-man squad right away. Focus on your starting 11 first, especially your attacking players, midfield playmaker, and center backs, before you touch your bench players or reserves.
Optimize Training Sessions for Specific Player Positions
Every position in eFootball Mobile has a set of “meta” stats that have a far bigger impact on in-game performance than their overall OVR number. You can have a 92-rated right back who is terrible to use, if you boosted their passing and shooting instead of their speed, defending, and stamina. Focusing on meta stats for each position will make your players perform far better than players who have a higher OVR but uneven stat distribution.
For example, wingers need high sprint speed, acceleration, dribbling, and crossing first. You can ignore their defending stats almost entirely, even if that leaves their overall OVR 1 or 2 points lower than it could be. For central midfielders who play in a box-to-box role, you need to balance stamina, passing, tackling, and dribbling, so they can support both attacks and defensive transitions. For goalkeepers, the most important stats are saving, reflexes, and reach, not their kicking speed or passing accuracy.
I’ve tested this extensively across dozens of online matches last season. I had two right backs: one 90 OVR with 97 speed and 92 defending, and another 93 OVR with 85 speed and 95 passing. The 90 OVR right back won 70% more defensive duels and made 3x more successful overlapping runs than the higher-rated one, just because his core position stats were optimized. Don’t fall for the trap of chasing a higher OVR number at the cost of usable, position-appropriate stats.
Use Post-Training Limit Breaks and Skill Upgrades Wisely
Once you max out a player’s base level, you can use limit break items to push their OVR even higher, and add or upgrade skills that make them far more effective in matches. Limit break items are some of the rarest resources in the game, so you should only use them on players you plan to keep in your squad for at least 3 to 6 months. Never use a limit break item on a standard player card, since featured, iconic moment, and epic cards have far higher maximum potential caps.
When it comes to skill upgrades, pick skills that complement the player’s existing playstyle and your squad’s formation. For a striker who makes lots of runs behind the defensive line, add the “Through Ball Mastery” and “Finishing Master” skills first, instead of wasting skill items on “Long Range Shooting” if you rarely shoot from outside the box. For a center back, add “Block Master” and “Aerial Superiority” to make them more effective at stopping crosses and winning defensive headers.
You also don’t need to add every possible skill to a single player. Most players only need 3 to 4 core skills to perform at their peak, so you can save extra skill items for other players in your squad instead of over-investing in one player. I used to waste 4 or 5 skill items on every maxed player, until I realized that skills like “Penalty Taker” don’t make any difference if you rarely get penalties in your matches.
At the end of the day, training players in eFootball Mobile doesn’t have to be complicated or require you to spend hundreds of dollars on microtransactions. All it takes is a little bit of planning before you start upgrading, a focus on position-appropriate stats, and avoiding the common resource waste traps that catch most new players. Once you learn how to train players in eFootball Mobile using these steps, you’ll notice a huge difference in your squad’s performance within a week, and you’ll start winning far more matches against opponents with higher overall squad OVR than yours. Don’t be afraid to test small adjustments to fit your own playstyle, either – the best training setups are the ones that work for how you actually play the game, not just what’s considered meta by the broader community.