Next Goal Wins

[NeverFeltBetter]

http://www.ifi.ie/film/next-goal-wins/

Saw this today, a really enjoyable documentary about the American Samoa national football team. Everyone knows of them because they were on the wrong end of the international games record win/defeat against Australia in 2001 and that's where this film starts, before tracking how the team responded and how they faced into the qualification for Brazil with a new Dutch manager.

It's one of those docs that just really speaks to any football fan, why we love the game and the effect it has on us. Parts of it might be a bit too sappy, but it makes up for it with the human interest side of things, from the AS keeper desperately trying to redeem himself for that 31-0 tonking, the transgender player breaking boundaries or the angry manager with a tragic past.

It's just the kind of film that puts a big smile on your face and makes you want to go and kick a ball around. It's in the IFI until next Thursday and is well worth seeing.