Harry's Movie Review

Next Goal Wins takes a simple premise—a Dutch coach tries to transform American Samoa's hapless national soccer team into contenders—and treats it with genuine affection rather than condescension. Taika Waititi could have made this a broad farce, but instead he lets the absurdity speak for itself. The film works because the ridicule lands sideways, not head-on.

Fassbender plays Thomas Rongen as a man who speaks in flat, practical statements and means every word. He does not inspire through rousing speeches or emotional breakthroughs. Instead, he shows up, assesses the chaos, and gets to work. The supporting cast—Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale—grounds the story in actual people rather than types. They react like real athletes confronting a genuinely difficult situation, which makes the small victories feel earned instead of manufactured.

The pacing moves at a brisk clip without rushing the character moments that matter. Waititi's direction keeps things light without ever becoming frivolous. If there is one limitation, it is that the film occasionally veers close to the sentimental territory it otherwise avoids, though it pulls back before fully committing to it. The restraint mostly holds.

Watching this film reminded me of Cool Runnings—that same delight in watching the impossible become possible through stubbornness and luck. What stayed with me was not an emotional crescendo, but the simple fact that these characters keep trying when every logical reason suggests they should not. That is enough.