Directed by Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok), NEXT GOAL WINS follows the infamously terrible American Samoa soccer team, known for a brutal 2001 FIFA match they lost 31-0. With the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around in this humorous and heartfelt true underdog story.
The Wrap – “Waititi is the perfect filmmaker for this comedy involving indigenous soccer players. There’s a lot of heart here. His Maori ancestry informs a sensitivity that enables him to find comedy in American Samoan culture without being at all offensive or disparaging, as he presents such examples as the religiousness and the gig economy on the island, or indigenous footballers using war cries as trash talk to intimidate the rival team.” (full review here)
Collider – “it’s particularly the delivery of these Waititi lines that really sells them, and while Next Goal Wins does have a solid cast surrounding the team, it’s the players themselves that are the real stars here.” (full review here)
Deadline – “Infused with so much heart and [Waititi’s] quirky sense of humor.” (full review here)
