Next Goal Wins: A Winning Strategy

Directed by Academy Award Winner Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok), NEXT GOAL WINS follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the 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 heartfelt underdog comedy.

REVIEW:

I happen to like underdog sports comedy dramas, especially the ones that are based on real life like Next Goal Wins. I don’t mind the cliches that come with them. And Goal has a lot of them.

This time around it’s the American Samoan soccer team, which was traditionally the worst national team in World Cup. It lost to Australia 31-0 in a 2001 World Cup qualifying match. So, this is a Bad News Bears teams waiting for the right-wrong coach to tun both himself and this team around, or at least score a goal.

This kind of movie needs a director like Taika Waititi to keep the silly-sweet in a winning balance. Outside of the Thor Marvel universe, Waititi has shown a penchant for charming drama-comedies, with JoJo Rabbit being the masterpiece in his oeuvre.

Waititi doesn’t gussy up the truth. The team’s woes are perfect comic fodder and the cliches are truthful and poignant. Goal respects Samoan traditions, religion and its characters. The elements are woven into the storyline, along with some Karate Kid inspiration. The coach (Michael Fassbender) portrays himself as a Mr. Miyagi to his team. He steals his best team speeches from other sports movies. He himself is a broken, alcoholic failure of a man both as a coach and a husband. The true life story of Jaiyah Saelula (Kaimana), a transgender athlete whose gender identity is part of an accepting Samoan cultural heritage, provides a unique spin to the traditional girl on the team with something to prove. Saelula was the first openly nonbinary and trans athlete to compete in a World Cup qualifier.

Jaiyah is a redemption character for Fassbender’s coach. She opens the door to his forgiveness , allows him to heal his buried grief. Her story arc is the team’s and Goal’s theme messenger.

Ultimately Next Goal Wins isn’t even a sports underdog movie. This team gets its goal, earns some respect and contentedly resigns itself to be a sometime competitive team. It’s not about the winning but the living, being happy with the effort put into life.