Offense
A/B: The character performs a long kick to the ball.
X: The player charges the ball in preparation of releasing the character's special, as energy around them begins to surge with a rainbow of colors. When fully charged, the button is released to perform the player's unique move, which comes at the cost of energy.
Y: The character does a high kick, hitting the ball a short distance but traveling in the air for a longer duration.

Defense
A: The player rushes forward, elbow extended, in an attempt to side check a member of the opposing team. This move only works against the player who currently has the ball in their possession.
B/Y: The character slides, attempting to steal the ball away from the opposing team. The move has much longer reach then compared with the side check, but deals much less damage and has a lower chance of success.
L/R: Swaps control of the selected character for the one closest to them.
Select: Issues a timeout, allowing the player to swap positions and possibly bring in reserve players. This can only be done during a out of bounds kick, or directly following a goal.

Characters differ from one another based primarily on their stats and each of their unique special moves. The benefits of each character's stats deviate greatly from one another depending on what areas they are specialized in. Below is a complete rundown of what each area provides.

Attack: The higher attack the more damage dealt to members of the opposing team when a slide or side check is done successfully.
Defense: The player's means of protection from others, defense works to reduce damage that would be dealt from either steals or being hit with the ball. It also reduces the player's chances of having the ball stolen while in their possession, and increases the chance that they might catch another players special, as opposed to getting hit.
Run: This stat dictates a character's speed, although it should be noted that the effect is reduced when in possession of the ball.
Kick: This stat controls how much force is behind the ball when kicked. This area is especially important when specials are used as offensive weapons, as the damage can grow to astronomic levels and it reduces the probability of others blocking the ball.
Stamina: The most important statistic, stamina functions as the character's life meter, of sorts. It depletes quickly when damage is received, and the effects can be noticed instantly as it makes the character weaker. When the meter drops, all of the character's stats are reduced in function, excluding energy. The effect works on a percentage basis, so a character that has 36/40 stamina would be perceived as in better shape then one with 50/90 stamina. When the meter starts to dip to the low 20% mark, then regular kicks are enough to knock the player out, while the amount of time the player is left unconscious from any attack is greatly increased (total duration dependent on the other player's attack stat or kick stat, depending on which was used).
Energy: A straight forward area, energy dictates the number of times the player can perform their special attack. The energy consumed by the move differs according to the character and their current level.