Why Friend Match is sensitive to your connection
Konami says that 1 vs 1 Friend Match runs peer-to-peer. Your device talks directly to your opponent's, instead of both talking to a game server as in eFootball League and Co-op. That has a simple consequence: either player's connection can end the game for both, and one side's cut can freeze the other side's screen. So a frozen screen does not tell you whose connection failed, and one drop does not prove anyone cheated.
What you see when it happens
The usual report is a frozen picture with a loading icon in the middle, followed by a message. There is no official figure for how long the game waits. Konami's FAQ describes no way to reconnect or resume, so do not count on getting back into the same game.
What the game can decide
Konami lists three possible outcomes for any PvP match that ends this way: a disconnection win, a disconnection loss, or a voided match when the result cannot be decided.
The automatic score is not a flat 3-0. The side that forfeits is recorded with 0. If the opponent had 3 goals or fewer, their score becomes 3. If they had more than 3, their real score stands. In PvP you can also forfeit on purpose from the pause menu. Konami describes all this for PvP in general and does not name Friend Match, so treat Match History as the final word on what happened in your game.
Two more facts from Konami are worth knowing. Frequent disconnections may bring account restrictions, so a habit of leaving games can cost you more than one match. And a Live Update during a match does not change the result.
What to do in the moment
- Take a picture of the frozen screen right away, with the score and the minute visible. Once the game moves on, you cannot get this back.
- Check Match History as soon as you can open it. See our Match History guide.
- Tell your opponent in the match chat what you see and what you think should happen next.
- Apply the rule below. It depends on what the game recorded and on when the cut happened.
How eFTUN handles a cut-off match
These rules come straight from the rules page:
- The game recorded a result in Match History: it stands. A replay needs both players to agree.
- Cut off or voided after half-time: whoever was leading wins with the score at that moment, shown by a picture of the frozen screen with the score and minute.
- Cut off before half-time, or level: play the whole game again in the same time. If the replay is not played, there is no result and no points.
Two lines are worth remembering. Leaving a game you are losing never helps you. And a claim of bad connection alone changes nothing. If the game finished and recorded a score, lag during it does not undo that score.
Four examples
- You lead 2-0 at minute 70, the game freezes, and Match History shows no result. You win 2-0, as long as you have the picture of the frozen screen with the score and minute.
- It is 1-1 at minute 60 and the game is voided. Play the whole game again in the same time.
- You lead 1-0 at minute 30 and the game cuts off. That is before half-time, so play the whole game again.
- You drop out and Match History shows a loss for you. The game recorded a result, so it stands unless you both agree to a replay.
How to lower the risk before kick-off
Konami does not publish a checklist for this, and these are ordinary network habits rather than game settings. They help any peer-to-peer game because they keep your connection steady.
- Stop other traffic. Pause downloads, streams and updates on your network before you play. Ask the people you live with to do the same for ten minutes.
- Pick one connection and stay on it. Do not switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data during a game.
- Get close to your router, or use a cable if your console or PC can reach it.
- Restart your router before the match, not five minutes after kick-off. It takes a few minutes to settle.
- On a phone, charge it, keep it cool and close other apps.
- Update the game early. Do it well before kick-off, so an update does not eat your check-in window.
- Test first. Friendlies in the Arena have no result entry, so they are a safe way to see how your connection behaves.
When you cannot join the room at all
Not every connection problem is a dropped game. If you cannot get into the room, check these first:
- Mobile and console or PC. They do not play each other, which is why eFTUN keeps them in separate cups.
- Cross-play. PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Xbox on PC and Steam can meet in Friend Match. If Cross-Platform is off, you can find a room number but you cannot enter that room. On PlayStation and Steam the setting is in Extras > Game Settings > Cross-Platform. Xbox uses its system privacy settings.
- The room number and password. Join by searching for the room number, and enter the password if the room has one. Ask your opponent to resend the number in the match chat if you are not sure.
If the problem is on your side
If you know you cannot play, forfeit before check-in closes. Your opponent wins 3-0, and no absence is recorded. That is always better than a no-show, which adds an absence to your record. If your connection fails on the day, tell your opponent early. Remember that the two of you cannot move the match to another day, but you can move kick-off to a later hour you both picked, up to one hour before it starts.
Dropped games are not always someone's fault
One disconnect proves very little, because both players share the connection in Friend Match. Keep your picture, follow the rule, and move on. If it keeps happening with the same player, open a support ticket with your evidence. Remember that a false report can get your account suspended, so stick to what you can show.