Next Goal Wins
Next Goal Wins
Story of the American Samoa soccer team, who suffered the worst loss in World Cup history, losing to Australia 31-0 in 2001. With the 2014 World Cup approaching, the team recruits a down on his luck, maverick coach (Fassbender) to help turn their fate around.
Chris Curtis reviewedFebruary 4, 2025
When I saw Taika Waititi attached to direct this story, it seemed a rather strange fit. Somewhat surprisingly, his quirky style works quite well here. Fassbender does fine as coach Thomas Rongen, but it's really the islanders who give the best performances. Oscar Kightley is wonderful as Tavita, in particular. The film itself is generally enjoyable and it delivers its uplifting message, but it also can't help feeling a bit cartoonish. Overall, you'd do better to find the 2014 documentary of the same name for a notably better telling of this incredible story.