Whether you call it football or soccer, the Beautiful Game or grass hockey, Taika Waititi has a movie for you. And its first trailer is above.
The Jojo Rabbit Oscar winner and Thor: Love and Thunder helmer directed Next Goal Wins, a film that — as the trailer notes quite cheekily — is inspired by a true story that pretty much happened. It follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for its brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the ragtag squad hires down-on-his-luck, maverick Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen (Fassbender) in the hope that he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around.
‘Next Goal Wins’
Elisabeth Moss, Oscar Kightley, Uli Latukefu, Rachel House, Kaimana, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Chris Alosio, Taika Waititi, Will Arnett, Rhys Darby also star.
Set to the earworm ABBA hit “Take a Chance on Me,” the trailer follows Ronger through his firing from a previous coaching gig to the South Pacific, where we learn that “we haven’t scored one goal in the history of our country trying to have a soccer team.” But: “Things are going to change.”
Enter the over-imbibing Ronger, who is told, “Coach, you’ve got the toughest job on the island.” When he meets the “team,” he notes: “It’s safe to safe you have zero talent or understanding of the game.”
But things are going to change. Right?
Waititi directs the pic from a script he co-wrote with Iain Morris. Joanthan Cavendish, Garrett Basch, Mike Brett, Scott Jamison and Waititi are the producers.
Searchlight Pictures opens the feel-good comedy from 20th Century Studios in theaters on November 17. Here is the poster:
20th Century Studios/Searchlight Pictures
