You’ll recall in 2014, there was the ridiculously entertaining documentary “Next Goal Wins.” Directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, the doc follows Thomas Rongen, a Dutch soccer coach hired to lead the national team for American Samoa. This famously pitiful outfit spent nearly two decades at the bottom of FIFA’s international rankings. So that true story has been brought to life by Taika Waitii (“Thor: Ragnarok”) in a very similar but more humorously imagined comedy called, you guessed it, “Next Goal Wins.”
READ MORE: ‘Next Goal Wins’ Review: Taika Waititi Scores With An Underdog Soccer Comedy [TIFF]
Starring Michael Fassbender as the constantly-peeved but ultimately caring Dutch coach, “Next Goal Wins” tells the same story of triumph over adversity in a feel-good underdog narrative.
The film also stars Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Lehi Falepapalangi, Semu Filipo, Uli Latukefu, Rachel House, Kaimana, Will Arnett, and Elisabeth Moss.
Written by Ian Morris and Taika Waititi, the film is produced by Jonathan Cavendish, Garrett Basch, Taika Waititi, Mike Brett, and Steve Jamison.
Here’s the official synopsis:
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 underdog story.
Having premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival already (read our review), “Next Goal Wins” opens via Searchlight Pictures on November 17. Watch the new trailer below.
