Next Goal Wins is a 2014 British documentary film directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. The film chronicles the national football team of American Samoa as they try to recover from the indignity of being known as one of the weakest football teams in the world, and to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Synopsis In 2001, American Samoa lost 31–0 to Australia, the worst loss in international football history, and have been dogged by defeat ever since. They want to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but continue to lose on the pitch. To help turn their luck around, the Football Federation American Samoa hire Dutch-born, America-based coach Thomas Rongen. Over the next three weeks, Rongen trains the team, and introduces some players based overseas, until they can acquit themselves with pride at the qualifiers at the OFC World Cup Qualification. Jaiyah Saelua, a member of the squad since 2003, is a fa'afafine and is the first transgender player to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. Production The American Samoa football team had refused permission to numerous film and TV crews before being approached by Brett and Jamison, the directors were given permission to film the team because they aimed to celebrate the fact that the team continued to play in the face of their defeats. The film was shot on 5k resolution using a RED Epic camera over two visits to the island of six and eight weeks respectively. Release The film had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 19 April 2014. It was released in the United Kingdom on 9 May. Critical response Next Goal Wins received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and audiences. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 100% approval rating based on 30 reviews, with a rating average of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Finding beauty in sports beyond the mere satisfaction on winning, Next Goal Wins is a moving documentary filled with a lovable array of underdogs". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 71 out of 100, based on reviews by 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In the UK, the film was admired by those who loved football and those who didn't. Representing the latter, Mark Kermode reviewed the film twice. In The Observer he gave Next Goal Wins four stars out of five and wrote that "whether or