‘I just shit myself in my pants, seriously…’
In 2001, American Samoa infamously lost 31-0 to Australia in a World Cup qualifier – the worst loss in international football history. Predictably, journalists and filmmakers descended on the collection of islands that make up the territory of American Samoa to tell the story of the worst football team of all time. The American Samoa Football Association wisely rebuffed all of these offers until they came across British filmmakers Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, two men who promised to celebrate the team’s resilience rather than laugh at their deficiencies. The result is a film that is both heart-warming and inspirational…
The film covers a handful of games in 2014 with Dutch-born, American-based head coach Thomas Rongen at the helm. Under Rongen, in just three weeks of training, American Samoa find their rhythm and begin to slowly lift themselves off the bottom of the FIFA rankings.
Next Goal Wins perfectly encapsulates everything that makes football so great (with none of the stuff that also makes it insufferable at times). The sheer determination and unity demonstrated by this unlikely band of perennial losers is truly joyous to behold, and while football is very much the focus, we are also offered a glimpse of life in a part of the world that is rarely represented on screen (or in any form of media for that matter). By the final match, shot and edited like the concluding moments of a Kevin Costner movie, I was completely gripped and utterly invested in the fate of American Samoa and their likeable squad, and I’ll admit to even having something in my eye at the end there.
Next Goal Wins is a football documentary that even non-football lovers will cherish – a heartfelt love letter to the Beautiful Game and to sports in general.
