Looking to buy a football game this Christmas? Well, there are three standout options available – EA FC 25, UFL, and eFootball. To see which is the game for you, we've compared the trio in terms of gameplay, modes and more.

For the first time in what feels like forever, there seems to be more than one standout option in the football gaming scene. For so long, FIFA, now EA Sports FC, has dominated, especially since Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) rebranded to eFootball, but with the latest EA Sports FC installment, EA FC 25, not receiving as high praise as usual, other football games are giving EA Sports competition for its football gaming crown.

The free-to-play football game UFL is finally available worldwide following eight years of development and multiple release date pushbacks, while Konami's eFootball is still viable competition for EA FC 25, despite losing a lot of popularity after moving away from the PES title. EA FC 25 is as popular as ever, but with two alternatives available for free, what is the best football game to buy and play this Christmas?

EA FC 25

EA FC 25 is EA's second installment of the EA Sports FC series, and EA FC 25 is undoubtedly the biggest football game currently available on the market. Not only is EA FC 25 the most popular, but it's also the most authentic, with the title boasting the official full licenses for the Premier League, Champions League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and many, many more leagues.

Ultimate Team is the most popular game mode in EA FC 25, where players can earn coins and open packs to build the best team possible to compete across a host of different game modes, earning more rewards in the process. EA FC 25 also has modes such as Career Mode and Clubs, with the latter being the most sociable way to play with friends.

Gameplay-wise, EA FC 25 has been bashed about a bit by its community since its release, with the current gameplay not an improvement on EA FC 24 – in fact, we compared it recently to FIFA 19, and the quality of gameplay was closer than you might think.

Despite gameplay not being as good as it could be, there's no arguing that content-wise, EA FC 25 has the most, so if authenticity and realism are what you're looking for, then look no further than EA FC 25.

UFL

The newest kid on the block, UFL is a free-to-play game developed by Strikerz Inc., with the game only being released worldwide at the beginning of the month. With Strikerz a much smaller development team than EA, getting all the authentic licenses was impossible, but there are almost 5,000 licensed and authentic players in the game to use, along with a handful of real clubs.

But, UFL isn't a game you will be playing for its authenticity, but for its gameplay. UFL prides itself on play-to-win over pay-to-win, and the gameplay is at a very promising stage considering it's just getting started. Right now, you can only play its Ultimate Team-like game mode or local offline games, but more game modes are set to be released in the future.

The game is currently only available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with the gaming coming to PC in 2025. UFL may not have all the bells and whistles that EA FC 25 has to offer, but it's completely free to download, which is a huge win.

eFootball

There was a time when Konami had a football game bigger than EA. Back in the noughties, PES was the football game for the most part, but FIFA's rapid rise saw it take its place on the top spot, and now, eFootball is barely offering EA Sports FC any sort of competition.

Nevertheless, a lack of competition doesn't mean it's not a good football game. eFootball rebranded in 2021, becoming a digital-only, free-to-play game. It may not have the player base it once did, but gameplay-wise, there's no arguing that it's still a viable option.

eFootball feels like a game that doesn't take itself too seriously. Just look at its most recent collaboration with Japanese manga Captain Tsubasa. Konami has brought the animation style into eFootball, and this is something I was a big fan of.

eFootball has some big club licenses like Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich, but like UFL, it still lacks in the authenticity department. The gameplay personally doesn't feel as nice as UFL or EA FC 25, but again, it's a free game, so there's not much complaining to be done.