Putting a specific ask out there instead of just an update.
I have spent the last few nights rebuilding ball physics and dribbling from scratch: rubber-banding, teleporting balls, more failed architectures than I will admit to publicly. I have landed somewhere I am finally happy with. The foot carries the ball on a drag-back and kicks it clean on a cut. But I know this exact problem, believable ball-to-foot contact, is something actual sports studios have whole engineers dedicated to.
If you have shipped this on a real sports title (FIFA, PES, 2K, NHL, Madden or similar) and want paid contract work on a scoped piece of it, get in touch. Small and scoped: get the ball-to-boot feel right, then hand it back to me. Roughly two to four weeks, C++ and Unreal Engine 5 Chaos physics.
Solo developer, real budget, no equity-only nonsense. Email hello@playstrikers.com.