Directed by Taika Waititi, “Next Goal Wins” (2023) is a sports comedy-drama that’s based on a true story. It is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name by Mike Brett & Steve Jamison. Both films follow Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen’s efforts to help the American Samoa national football team qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. At the time, this team was considered one of the weakest soccer (American football) teams in the world. Michael Fassbender, known for his films like “The Killer,” “Shame,” & “Hunger,” plays the central character of Rongen. Besides him, the cast of “Next Goal Wins” includes Kaimana, Oscar Kightley, Elisabeth Moss, David Fane, Rachel House, Will Arnett, and writer-director Taika Waititi himself. Spoilers ahead.
Next Goal Wins (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
What is ‘Next Goal Wins’ about?
“Next Goal Wins,” starring Michael Fassbender, is inspired by true events. It follows football coach Thomas Rongen who takes on the herculean task of helping the infamously terrible American Samoa national football team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. While dealing with his personal issues, he tries to guide one of the weakest soccer teams to achieve their goal (no pun intended!). The screenplay for “Next Goal Wins” is written by Iain Morris with actor-director Taika Waititi.
What happens in ‘Next Goal Wins’?
In the 2001 World Cup qualifiers, the American Samoan football team faced an embarrassing loss against the Australian team. While Australia scored 31 goals, American Samoa scored none. It was considered as probably the worst defeat in the history of Football. A decade later, the same team hopes to make a comeback in the World Cup. The issue is – they are not even decent enough to qualify for it. They struggle to score any goals in the local tournaments and use a laid-back approach to the preparation and also, the actual performance. Their present Coach Ace (David Fane) gets frustrated by it and decides to resign.
How does Thomas Rongen become the American Samoa Football team’s coach?
In the absence of a coach, the President of the Football Federation of American Samoa – Tavita Taumua (Oscar Kightley), needs to choose a successor. His wife Ruth (Rachel House) advises him to look for someone outside the island. Tavita does not have much hope that someone would want to take this embarrassing job. So, Ruth herself puts out an ad for this job. Back at the American Soccer Federation, Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) is about to get fired. He can save his job under one condition – accept an almost impossible task: to convert the American Samoa national team into an elite squad.
President of the federation – Alex Magnussen (Will Arnett) & Thomas’ ex-wife, Gail (Elisabeth Moss), think it is best for Thomas to choose this job – because of his past issues. Thomas understands that he is being assigned the weakest football team ever. Still, he sees no other option but to accept this job. He gets on a plane to American Samoa with his usual grumpy self. Unlike the cheerful, happy-go-lucky Samoan people, Thomas keeps up with his tough guy persona. However, Tavita must accept Thomas as he is because no one else agreed to coach their team.
What is Thomas Ringen’s coaching experience for the American Samoa Football team?
After reaching the Island, Thomas does not like anything about it. From a clumsily designed house to an old car, he has to make peace with this new reality. He tries to stay in touch with his past – by putting up a photo of him & Gail’s daughter. The islanders welcome him with open arms, but he doesn’t reciprocate those emotions. Finally, he enters the football ground to teach his male players. Then, Jaiyah (Kaimana) arrives as a part of this team. Thomas cannot understand how a woman can participate with others. Once the team starts practicing, Ace reveals that Jaiyah is Fa’afafine (referred to as non-binary people in Samoa).
The team allows her to play but never calls her by their dead name. Thomas accepts that. He checks on every player’s strengths & weaknesses to realize that they live up to their bad reputation. When he tries to push them toward improvement, they do not care much. So, he bails on them & heads back home for the day. He replays a saved message of his daughter speaking to him. Since he cannot bear the pain of missing her, he heads to the beach. A scarfed woman (Ruth) advises him to make the best of the family he has got. It inspires him not to give up on his new team.
How does Thomas improve the American Samoa football team’s performance?
Thomas continues feeling terrible for being the Samoan team’s coach. He calls Gail and opens up about his struggle to make peace with it. They see it just as a game and not a sport. Still, Gail tells him to wait till the Qualifiers. She also tells him that she sent him there not to work on them but on himself – considering his trauma-ridden state. As time passes by, he begins to accept the truth. He cannot fight the fact that they play terribly. So, he might as well set his goals low. He settles his differences about Jaiyah and learns to let go of his outdated outlook. Then, he admits that she is a great defender in their team.
Once Thomas becomes friends with Jaiyah, she suggests other players to bring into their team. Unfortunately, no one accepts the offer. So, Thomas starts working on his present team. He does everything – from trying to improve their stamina to making them passionate about the sport. In the David vs. Goliath narrative, there finally comes a chapter to fight Goliath. Suddenly, one of their strong players, Nicky also decides to join the team. However, on the day of their match, Jaiyah breaks down and feels low. Thomas motivates her to bring her mojo back – because he knows only she can help motivate other players.
Next Goal Wins (2023) Movie Ending Explained:
Does the team manage to score any goals?
American Samoan football team preps to fight the Tonga team, who always teased them and made them feel worse about themselves. In the first half, they still end up playing pretty poorly, despite all of Thomas’ lessons. So, he gets riled up at them. One of the players says that ‘he’s not feeling it’ that day. Thomas does not consider that an important factor and calls them losers. But the Samoans do. They value feelings more than he does. Seeing his anger & frustration, Tavita goes up to speak with him. He tries to make Thomas open up about his emotions and not consider things to be about just victory or loss.
Before the second half, Thomas finally opens up about his deep pain. Since the death of his young daughter two years ago, he could not see things clearly. So, he planned to give up on this job even though he wasn’t getting any other job. So, he deeply values his team’s victory as a way to feel good about himself. Luckily, this emotional speech makes his team conduct themselves more passionately. They score a goal and then another one. Eventually, they end up winning the match.
Does the American Samoa team make it to the 2014 FIFA World Cup?
Right after winning their first big match, the American Samoa football team suffered losses and could not make it to the FIFA World Cup. But that did not matter to them since they managed to prove that they were not totally worthless. In the end, Thomas also became one with the community & started to feel better about himself.
Next Goal Wins (2023) True Story Explained:
Is ‘Next Goal Wins’ based on a true story?
Yes. “Next Goal Wins,” directed by Taiki Waititi, is based on a true story. It follows the American Samoa soccer (American football) team, infamous for a brutal 2001 FIFA match they lost 31-0. After that, Thomas Ringen coached them toward an achievement that was remarkable for them.
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