eFootball Players Playstyles explained

When you look up the stats of any player on eFootball, you’ll see that he has a certain playstyle. In this article we’re going to look at them in depth. This is eFootball Players Playstyles explained.

Are you one of those eFootball Players who picks the highest rated players you have or just picks whoever’s available regardless of playstyle? If that’s what you have been doing then you have been doing it all wrong.

Playstyle

A playstyle can be defined as the way or manner in which a player plays a game.

Konami has always been lauded for its gameplay and its player handling. This is because each player tends to play differently in a peculiar and unique pattern. These patterns are mostly based on their real life counterparts and this adds a layer of realism to the game.

For example, in game, a player like Salah or Vinicius Jr would hang out wide on the wings only to suddenly burst into the box to either pass or shoot. Another example is when defensive midfielders like Casemiro or Rodri would act like their real life counterparts and sit deep protecting the defence, instead of attacking.


Read: Why eFootball 2023 Mobile doesn’t work on your phone 


eFootball Players Playstyles explained

eFootball Players Playstyles refers to the way that different players behave in-game. This behavior is based on their real life alter egos.

It would be a herculean task to code each player based on the playstyle of their real life counterparts. This is why Konami made 22 playstyle templates which are then assigned to the player database.

When you play a player in his preferred position, his playstyle is becomes activated and he should behave like his real life doppelganger. For example, you have to play Vinicius Jr. as a Left winger inorder to activate his roaming flank playstyle.

Let’s look at these eFootball Players Playstyles from back to front (defense to attack).


Goalkeepers

Defensive Goalkeeper

This is a goalie (GK) that stays very close to his goalposts and relies heavily on his shot stopping abilities e.g. Kahn, Courtois, Oblak etc.

Offensive Goalkeeper

This is a sweeper keeper who rushes out of his defence to preemptively stop attacks e.g. Neuer, Donnarumma, Alisson etc. These keepers to be very good with their feet as well.


Defenders

Extra front man

This is a Center back (CB) who leaves the defence to join the attack. During a turn over, you’ll see such players racing towards the opponents goalposts to create an overload. Prominent examples include Sergio Ramos, Koundé, L. Hernandez etc.

Build up

This is a center back (CB) who picks up the ball from the goalkeeper (GK) and attempts to play it into midfielder or play a pass to start attacks. These CBs are also known as ball playing defenders and are usually fast and strong with good passing ability e.g. Van Dijk, Alaba, Marquinhos etc.

Destroyer

This is a hard tackling and hard pressing center bank (CB), defensive midfielder (DMF) or central midfielder (CMF) who charges at opposition players. If they miss the ball, they certainly won’t miss the leg. Some very good examples are Rudiger, Puyol, Ruben Dias, Gabriel M., Sol Campbell, Koulibaly etc.

Fullback finisher

This is full back (right back or left back) that enjoys joining the attack high up in central areas and can score too e.g. Hakimi, Cancelo, Theo Hernandez, Marcelo etc.

Offensive fullback

A full back who enjoys joining the attack in wide areas to deliver crosses. These players are fast and strong with good stamina. Examples include Robertson, Carvajal, Carlos, Davies etc.

Note: Offensive Fullbacks and fullback finishers would bomb up the wing to join the attack giving you more options in attack, but doing so will be leaving you open to a counter attack.

Defensive fullback

This is defender that hardly strays beyond the halfway line.  These types of defenders prefer to stay back and defend e.g. Parvard, Azpilicueta, Ferland Mendy etc.


Read: Scripting in video games


Midfielders

Anchor man

This is a defensive midfielder who sits permanently in front of the defence and protects it against attacks. They’re a must have in every team. Examples include Rodri, Busquets, Fabinho and Casemiro.

Orchestrator

This is a central and/or defensive midfielder that stays deep and starts attacks from there. They’re more commonly known as Registas or Deep lying playmakers, a position that was played to perfection by Andrea Pirlo. Other prominent examples include Kimmich, Modric, Frenkie De Jong and Eriksen etc.

Box-to-Box

This is an energetic midfielder who can play and cover a variety of midfield positions in 90 mins. They follow the ball relentlessly with high pressing and tackling. They also have very good stamina as well e.g. Kanté, Goretzka, Valverde, Partey, Tchouameni etc.

Hole player

This is a CMF, AMF, LMF/RMF (wide midfielder) or second striker (SS) that makes timed runs into the attack (opposition). They usually have very good finishing ability. Some good examples are Havertz, Griezmann, Lampard and Bruno Fernandes.

Classic No. 10

This is an old fashioned attacking midfielder (AMF), CMF or SS who stays central and dictates the game using passing and movement. Examples include Gascoigne, Ozil etc.

Creative playmaker

This is a more modern AMF, SS, LMF/RMF or Winger who initiates attacks, assists and even scores goals. Examples are Ronaldinho, De Bruyne, Neymar Jr., Messi etc.


Wide players

Cross specialist

This is a wide midfielder (LMF/RMF) or winger (LWG/RWG) who hugs the touchline in wide areas, looking for a chance to swing in a cross e.g. Alexander-Arnold, Blind, Beckham, Saelemaekers etc.


Forwards

Roaming flank

This is a wide midfielder (LMF/RMF) or Winger who roams wide areas but tends to cut in early from the wing to receive passes and shoot. You can think of them as an inside forward. Examples are Vinicius Jr., Salah, Rodrygo etc.

Prolific winger

This is winger who stays out wide to receive the ball before either crossing or cutting in to pass or shoot. A prolific winger can either be regular or inverted. Regular wingers tend to cross while inverted wingers tend to shoot. Some good examples are Mane, Son, Rafael Leao, Bukayo Saka etc.


Strikers

Deep lying forward

This is a second striker (SS) or centre forward (CF) that falls back to receive the ball inorder setup chances for himself and/or others. Benzema is one very good example. Others include Firmino, J. Alvarez, Kane etc.

Target man

This is a big and tall CF. His job is to act as focal point for long balls. Usually, he takes down long and high passes, protects the ball and creates chances for himself or his teammates. He also tends to score too, especially headers. AC Milan currently has two legendary target men in the persons of Giroud and Ibrahimovic.

Fox in the box

This is a CF who waits in the 18-yard box waiting for a chance to strike. These strikers are usually ineffectual outside the box but very active and dangerous inside it e.g. Lukaku, Haaland, Haller, Vlahovic etc.

Dummy runner

This is a striker who draws defenders away to create space for other teammates to shoot e.g Müller, Kelechi Iheanacho etc.

Advanced striker/Goal Poacher

This is a striker who plays off the shoulder of the last defender, looking for a chance to run in behind to shoot at goal. Some of the best strikers on eFootball are Goal poachers e.g. Lewandowski, Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kane etc.


How to know an eFootball Players Playstyle

This is very simple. When you’re in-game, go to my team, or to contract, navigate till you get to the player menu and click on the any player. You have to enter player details but if not, simply swipe left and you’ll find it.

Some players may have multiple cards with different Playstyles so expect different cards with different Playstyles to behave differently on the field of play.

eFootball Players Playstyles
Erling Haaland has two different cards that behave differently

Another case to note is that some players like Trent Alexander-Arnold for example, has a playstyle that doesn’t activate due to his favourite position which is quite weird lol. You’ll have to play him at RMF inorder to activate his playstyle so keep an eye out for that.

So these are the eFootball Players Playstyles explained in full. Tell me which Playstyles you favour in the comments and I’ll be sure to reply.


If you enjoyed this article, then do keep up with us using the following channels

4 comments

  1. Thanks man, this is very informative.
    But how do i know if a prolific winger is inverted or regular?? Plus, u should have done this in a video with gameplay examples.

    1. That’s easy.

      A left winger who is right footed and a right winger with a left foot are both inverted wingers.

      Regular wingers are wingers with the same side of dominant foot e.g a right winger with a right foot or a left winger with a left foot.

      I’m working on a video that’ll be posted shortly.

  2. If I have a destroyer CB that’s capable of playing from the RB position like Ronald Araujo, will he play as a defensive RB or offensive RB. Because I don’t think there’s a balanced wing back position.
    The player is either attacking or defending one at a time.
    Thank you very much.

    1. More often than not in my experience, they tend to play generically. This means that they play like a typical default fullback. This is because the destroyer play style only activates at Centre back. They’ll attack if you use an attacking play style and defend when you do so.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *