In 2001, the American Samoa national football team suffered 0-31 defeat against Australia. Since then, American Samoa have to go through long periods without victory and goal. After yet another humiliating defeat in 2011 Pacific Games Tournament, Tavita Taumua who heads the nation's football federation announces that he will hire a new coach.
Meanwhile in the United States, football coach Thomas Rongen has just been sacked by American Soccer Federation. He is then offered to become the new coach for American Samoa. Because he doesn't want to live without job, Rongen reluctantly accepts the offer.
When Rongen begins his new job, Rongen is frustrated by the players' lack of football skill and the islands' limited facilities. He also dislikes Jaiyah — the American Samoa player who happens to be a transgender (fa'afafine) — because he thinks Jaiyah lacks discipline and focus. Eventually, the two are involved in minor brawl after Rongen taunts Jaiyah by calling Jaiyah with her legal birth name.
Jaiyah later visits Rongen's house to apologize and the two agree to forgive each other. With Jaiyah's help, Rongen travels around the islands to recruit new faces for the squad.
Rongen also changes his training approach and begins to show more respect toward American Samoan players and staffs. Because although they lack football skill and have to work at multiple jobs, they are still passionate enough to do everything to support the national team.
Four weeks after Rongen's first arrival in American Samoa, the team are finally ready to play their first competitive match under Rongen: against Tonga in FIFA World Cup qualification match. Rongen chooses Jaiyah as the captain for this match.
American Samoa initially start the match well. However, the pressure begins to affect American Samoa players after Rongen keeps yelling and throwing tantrum in front of his players. Eventually, Tonga are able to score first after intercepting pass from their opponent. The first half ends with Tonga leading 1-0.
During the half time break in the dressing room, Rongen angrily calls the players as useless and accuses them as not trying to play seriously. Rongen later announces his resignation from head coach position and plans to leave the stadium immediately.
Before Rongen is able to leave the stadium however, Taumua convinces Rongen to rethink his decision. Eventually, Rongen changes his mind and returns to the dressing room. Rongen apologizes to his players and tells his players to play as they want without needing to worry about result.
Rongen also admits that two years before, he lost his daughter in an accident. That event affects Rongen so deeply that he feels guilty to himself and often shows emotional outbursts throughout his managerial career.
Feeling touched and motivated by Rongen's speech, the American Samoa players are playing a lot better in second half. Eventually, they are able to score a goal and change the scoreline to 1-1. However, when the players and staffs are celebrating the goal, Taumua suddenly faints due to heatstroke.
Taumua later wakes up in a room when the match has ended. His son, Daru, who also plays at that match, later explains that when his father was still unconscious, American Samoa were able to score another goal and ended the match in 2-1 victory.
Later during the gathering with American Samoa players and staffs, Rongen announces that he will leave his position as American Samoa head coach because he wants to take a break from football for some time. Although initially shocked, Taumua accepts Rongen's decision and wishing him well in the future.
In the credit, it is mentioned that after defeating Tonga 2-1 in 2011, American Samoa never become the lowest team anymore in FIFA world football ranking. Thomas Rongen later works as the Chief Scout for the United States national team, before working as commentator at CBS Sports. Jaiyah later becomes FIFA ambassador for equality.
Principal photography began in November 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii,[13][9][17] and wrapped by January 2020.[18] In December 2021, it was announced that Will Arnett would be stepping in for Hammer following allegations of sexual assault made by multiple women against the latter. The part, initially intended as a cameo, was expanded when Arnett joined.[16] In May 2023, Kaitlyn Dever was announced as part of the cast.[19]
Release
The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023,[2] prior to its commercial release on November 17, 2023.[20] The film was originally set to be released on April 21, 2023,[21] before being postponed to September 22, 2023,[22] and then to its current date. The film's cast, however, was unable to attend the premiere due to the restrictions imposed by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[20]
Home media
Next Goal Wins released for digital platforms on January 16, 2024, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on February 27, 2024.[23]
Reception
Box office
Next Goal Wins grossed $6.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $11.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $18.6 million.[4][5]
In the United States and Canada, Next Goal Wins was released alongside The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Trolls Band Together, and Thanksgiving, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,240 theaters in its opening weekend.[24] It went on to debut to $2.5 million, finishing eighth at the box office.[25] The film made $1.6 million in its second weekend (a drop of 35.1%), finishing in 11th.[26]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 165 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Next Goal Wins finds director/co-writer Taika Waititi with his heart in the right place, even if his crowd-pleasing aim has noticeably strayed from its target."[27]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 44 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 86% overall positive score, with 65% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[25]
