FIFA 21: Complete Controls Guide (Volta, Goalkeeper, Defence, Attack, Be A Pro) on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X & Xbox One

FIFA controls stay consistent each year, with one or two subtle changes being made for players to master.

For those of you who are new to FIFA or are returning via FIFA 21, here are the controls that you need to know to get to grips with the latest title.

The first section deals with the most popular controller setting, Classic, with the following sections looking at the other controls on offer in FIFA 21.

Contents hide

1. FIFA 21 Classic Controls

1.1. FIFA 21 Movement Controls

1.2. FIFA 21 Defence Controls

1.3. FIFA 21 Attack Controls

1.4. FIFA 21 Goalkeeper Controls

1.5. FIFA 21 Free Kick Controls

1.6. FIFA 21 Corners and Throw-ins Controls

1.7. FIFA 21 Penalties Controls

1.8. FIFA 21 Tactics Controls

2. FIFA 21 Volta Football Controls

3. FIFA 21 Be A Pro Controls

In this FIFA 21 controls guide, R and L refer to the right and left analogue on either console controller. The buttons R3 and L3 refer to the pressing of the right or left analogue to trigger the action. Up, Right, Down, Left signify the buttons on the d-pad of either console controller.

FIFA 21 Classic Controls

The Classic controls setting is aptly named as it’s the default setting and the most popular among players. For those who played FIFA in previous years, the chances are that these are the settings that you’re used to using.

FIFA 21 Movement Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Move Player	L (direction)	L (direction)
Sprint	R2 (hold)	RT (hold)
First Touch / Knock-On	R2 + R (direction)	RT + R (direction)
Stop and Face Goal	L + (no direction) + L1	L + (no direction) + LB
Strafe Dribble	L1 + L	LB + L
Agile Dribble	R1 + L	RB + L
Stop the Ball	R2 + (no direction)	RT + (no direction)
Jostle (Ball in the Air)	L2	LT
Skill Moves	R	R
Slow Dribble	L2 + R2 + L (direction)	LT + RT + L (direction)

FIFA 21 Defence Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Change Player	L1	LB
Manual Change Player	R (direction)	R (direction)
Tackle / Push or Pull (when chasing)	O	B
Hard Tackle	O (press and hold)	B (press and hold)
Instant Hard Tackle	R1 + O	RB + B
Slide Tackle	Square	X
Quick Get Up (after a slide tackle)	Square	X
Clearance	O	B
Contain	X (hold)	A (hold)
Teammate Contain	R1 (hold)	RB (hold)
Shield / Jockey	L2 (hold)	LT (hold)
Running Jockey	L2 (hold) + R2 (hold)	LT (hold) + RT (hold)
Shoulder Challenge / Seal-Out	L2 (tap)	LT (tap)
Engage Shielding Opponent	L2 + L (towards shielding dribbler)	LT + L (towards shielding dribbler)
Pull and Hold (when chasing)	O (hold)	B (hold)
Rush Goalkeeper Out	Triangle	Y
Goalkeeper Cross Intercept	Triangle + Triangle (press and hold)	Y + Y (press and hold)

FIFA 21 Attack Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Protect Ball	L2	LT
Ground Pass / Header	X	A
Driven Ground Pass	R1 + X	RB + A
Lofted Ground Pass	X + X	A + A
Pass and Go	L1 + X	LB + A
Pass and Move	X + R (direction, hold)	A + R (direction, hold)
Flair Pass	L2 + X	LT + A
Lob Pass / Cross / Header	Square	X
Through Ball	Triangle	Y
Lofted Through Pass	Triangle + Triangle	Y + Y
Threaded Through Ball	R1 + Triangle	RB + Y
Lob Through Ball	L1 + Triangle	LB + Y
Driven Lobbed Through Pass	L1 + R1 + Triangle	LB + RB + Y
High Lob / High Cross	L1 + Square	LB + X
Driven Lob Pass / Driven Cross	R1 + Square	RB + X
Ground Cross	Square + Square	X + X
Whipped Cross	L1 + R1 + Square	LB + RB + X
Driven Ground Cross	R1 + Square + Square	RB + X + X
Fake Pass	Square then X + direction	X then A + direction
Flair Lob	L2 + Square	LT + X
Dummy a Pass	L + (no direction) + R1 (press and hold)	L + (no direction) + RB (press and hold)
Shoot / Header / Volley	O	B
Timed Shot	O + O (timed)	B + B (timed)
Chip Shot	L1 + O	LB + B
Finesse Shot	R1 + O	RB + B
Low Shot / Downward Header	L1 + R1 + O (tap)	LB + RB + B (tap)
Fake Shot	O then X + direction	B then A + direction
Flair Shot	L2 + O	LT + B
Flick Up for Volley	R3	R3
Disguised First Touch	R1 (press and hold) + L (towards the ball)	RB (press and hold) + L (towards the ball)
Set Up Touch	R1 + R (hold in a direction)	RB + R (hold in a direction)
Directional Runs	L1 (tap) + R (flick in any direction)	LB (tap) + R (flick in any direction)
Trigger Teammate Run	L1	LB
Call for Support	R1	RB
Cancel Foul Advantage	L2 + R2	LT + RT
Hard Super Cancel	L1 + R1 + L2 + R2	LB + RB + LT + RT
Player Lock	L + R	L + R
Switch Player Lock	L (flick in any direction)	L (flick in any direction)
Let Ball Run	R1 (hold) + L (away from the ball)	RB (hold) + L (away from the ball)

FIFA 21 Goalkeeper Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Switch to Goalkeeper	TouchPad	View
Drop Ball	Triangle	Y
Drop Kick	O or Square	B + X
Throw / Pass	X	A
Pick Up Ball	R1	RB
Driven Throw	R1 + X	RB + A
Driven Kick	R1 + Square	RB + X
Move Goalkeeper	R3 (press and hold) + R	R3 (press and hold) + R
Goalkeeper Cover Far Post	R3 (press and hold)	R3 (press and hold)

FIFA 21 Free Kick Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Aim	L	L
Move Kick Taker	R	R
Time Your Shot	O + O	B + B (timed)
Curled Shot	O or R (hold downwards)	B or R (hold downwards)
Apply Curl During Run Up	R	R
Driven Shot	L1 + O	LB + B
Ground Pass	X	A
Lob Pass / Cross	Square	X
Wall Jump	Triangle	Y
Wall Charge	X	A
Move Wall	L2 or R2	LT or RT
Select Kick Taker	R2	RT
Add Kick Taker	R1 or L1	RB or LT
Move Goalkeeper	Square or O	X or B
Call 2nd Kick Taker	L2	LT
2nd Kick Taker Curled Shot	L2 + O	LT + B
2nd Kick Taker Layoff Pass	L2 + X	LT + A
2nd Kick Taker Layoff Chip	L2 + Square	LT + X
2nd Kick Taker Run Over Ball	L2 + O then X	LT + B then A
Call 3rd Kick Taker	R1	RB
3rd Kick Taker Curled Shot	R1 + O	RB + B
3rd Kick Taker Run Over Ball	R1 + O then X	RB + B then A

FIFA 21 Corners and Throw-ins Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Lob Cross (Corners)	Square	X
Pass (Corners)	X	A
Aim Kick	L	L
Apply Kick Power	Square	X
Turn Aim Indicator On/Off	Up	Up
Display Corner Tactics	Down	Down
Run Far Post	Down then Up	Down then Up
Edge of Box Run	Down then Right	Down then Right
Crowd the Goalkeeper	Down then Left	Down then Left
Run Near Post	Down then Down	Down then Down
Move Along the Line (Throw-ins)	L	L
Short Throw-in	X	A
Manual Short Throw-in	Triangle	Y
Long Throw-in	Square or X (press and hold)	X or A (press and hold)
Fake Throw	Square + X or X + Square	X + A or A + X

FIFA 21 Penalties Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Aim	L	L
Shoot	O	B
Move Kick Taker	R	R
Stutter	L2	LT
Sprint	R2	RT
Finesse Shot	R1 + O	RB + B
Chip Shot	L1 + O	LB +B
Select Kick Taker	R2	RT
Turn Aim Indicator On/Off	Up	Up
Goalkeeper Move Side to Side	L (direction)	L (direction)
Goalkeeper Dive	R (direction)	R (direction)
Goalkeeper Gestures	X / O / Square / Triangle	A / B / X / Y

FIFA 21 Tactics Controls

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Display Attacking Tactics	Up	Up
Get in the Box	Up, Up	Up, Up
Attacking Full Backs	Up, Right	Up, Right
Hug Sideline	Up, Left	Up, Left
Extra Striker	Up, Down	Up, Down
Display Defending Tactics	Down	Down
Striker Drop Back	Down, Up	Down, Up
Team Press	Down, Right	Down, Right
Overload Ball Side	Down, Left	Down, Left
Offside Trap	Down, Down	Down, Down
Change Game Plan	Left or Right	Left or Right
Quick Substitutes	R2	RT

FIFA 21 Volta Football Controls

These are the additional controls that you need to know to master the Volta Football game mode on FIFA 21.

Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Simple Skill Moves	L1 (press and hold) + L (direction)	LB (press and hold) + L (direction)
Simple Flicks	R3 + L (direction)	R3 + L (direction)
Taunts	L + (no direction) + R2 (pull and hold)	L + (no direction) + RT (pull and hold)
Change Mentality (Tactic)	Left or Right	Left or Right
Hard Tackle	Square	X

FIFA 21 Be A Pro Controls

In Be A Pro, you’ll spend a lot of your time off of the ball when your team is in possession: in the table below, you can find all of the attacking off of the ball controls in FIFA 21 when you’re controlling one player.

Further down, you can find the additional goalkeeper controls on FIFA 21’s Be A Pro.

Outfielder Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Call for a Pass	X	A
Call for or Suggest a Through Pass	Triangle	Y
Suggest Shot	O	B
Call for Driven Ground Pass	R1 + X	RB + A
Call for Threaded Through Pass	R1 + Triangle	RB + Y
Call for Lobbed Through Pass	L1 + Triangle	LB + Y
Call for Far Lobbed Through Pass	L1 + R1 + Triangle	LB + RB + Y
Call for Cross	Square	X
Call for Ground Cross	R1 + Square	RB + X
Call for High Cross	L1 + Square	LB + X

Goalkeeper Action	PS4 / PS5 Controls	Xbox One / Series X Controls
Call for or Suggest a Pass	X	A
Suggest a Through Pass	Triangle	Y
Suggest a Cross	Square	X
Suggest a Shot	O	B
Toggle Camera Target	TouchPad	View
Dive	R (hold in direction)	R (hold in direction)
Automatic Positioning	L1 (press and hold)	LB (press and hold)
2^nd Defender Contain	R1 (press and hold)	RB (press and hold)