New Taika Waititi Film Stars Michael Fassbender

In 2001, the American Samoa football team were thrashed by Australia and recruited the services of a coach named Thomas Rongen in an attempt to reverse their on-the-field misfortunes. The story has now been dramatised by New Zealand director Taika Waititi in a film called, Next Goal Wins, out April 2023.

“The story is about the worst soccer team in the world, who famously experienced the biggest loss in an international match against Australia, 31-0, which is about a goal every four minutes,” says the man behind Thor: Ragnorak and its sequel. “After suffering that huge defeat, they applied to the soccer federation to find a coach who could get them from the very, very bottom of the FIFA rankings.”

Waititi cast award-winning actor Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs, Macbeth, X-Men franchise)  as the Dutch-born Rongen. Next Goal Wins also stars Elisabeth Moss as Rongen’s ex-wife.

Original article by Clark Collis, Yahoo, November 22, 2022.