20 Sports Documentaries You Must See Before You Die
3. Next Goal Wins
Despite football being the most loved and played sport in the world, it's success on film has been somewhat disappointing. We've had some amazing documentaries associated about the beautiful game, but we've also seen some duds that have failed miserably in highlighting why so many people follow the sport.
One of, if not, the best documentary to ever successfully capture the highs and lows that come with football is Next Goal Wins. The film follows the American Samoan team as they try to get rid of their reputation of being one of the worst sporting countries in the world and qualify for the 2014 World Cup. They hire Dutch football coach, Thomas Rongen, to help coach the team and bring them some sort of success.
It's genuinely inspirational watching the team slowly, but surely getting better under Rongen. Despite losing constantly, giving up isn't really in their vocabulary and the film's directors, Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, do a brilliant job of showing their steel and determination to better themselves throughout.