10 Biggest Details Next Goal Wins Leaves Out About The Samoan Soccer Team’s Story

Summary

• Next Goal Wins takes several liberties with the true story.
• Waititi’s movie differs significantly from the original documentary – inventing characters and changing personalities.
• The film also leaves out key details that transform the impact of the story.

Despite following the award-winning original documentary, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins actually makes some fairly major changes to the true story of the American Samoa national football team. Waititi himself has admitted that simply retelling the existing documentary wouldn’t have been suitably entertaining – “I had to twist the truth… Otherwise, watch the documentary,” he told an audience at the Toronto International Film Festival (via History vs Hollywood). However, while some of these tweaks fall under artistic license, the result is that Next Goal Wins doesn’t tell the full story.

Like the documentary, Next Goal Wins focuses on the efforts of Dutch coach Thomas Rongen to turn American Samoa into a competitive soccer team ahead of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Historically, the nation has consistently been ranked as one of the weakest teams in the world, suffering loss after humiliating loss – including a 31-0 hammering by Australia. While the movie faithfully recreates some aspects of the true story, it also leaves out some important details. As the documentary proves, their inclusion makes a big difference to Next Goal Wins‘ message.

9 American Samoa Aren’t Quite As Bad As The Movie Suggests

They had some small successes.

As Next Goal Wins correctly points out, American Samoa has never been a football powerhouse. However, while the real team’s results are nothing to be proud of, the movie’s claims about the extent of their terribleness are slightly exaggerated. For instance, Oliver Kightley’s Tavita claims, prior to Rongen’s arrival, that “We haven’t scored one goal in the history of our country trying to have a soccer team.“

This claim, while funny, isn’t actually true. Not only had American Samoa scored two goals in the decade preceding Rongen’s arrival, but they had actually won their second-ever competitive match against Wallis and Fortuna in 1983 3-0. This makes the team’s triumph over Tonga their second win of all time, as opposed to their first.

8 Thomas Rongen Wasn’t Fired For His Temper

It was actually for something worse

The movie claims that Rongen had “been fired from his last three jobs because he can’t control himself.” This, however, was not the case. The real reason Rongen was fired from the United States Under-20 setup was that the team failed to qualify for the World Cup for that age group – something the country did consistently prior to his appointment (via History vs Hollywood). In fact, a 2023 Washington Post article praised his friendly personality and good nature – a far cry from Michael Fassbender’s curmudgeonly performance in Next Goal Wins.

7 Rongen Didn’t Join American Samoa As A Last Resort

It wasn’t an ultimatum from the U.S.

An early scene in Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins suggests that Rongen was faced with a binary choice – unemployment or American Samoa. The reality – at least, according to Rongen himself – is that he saw it as an exciting challenge rather than a last resort. In a 2014 interview with HeyUGuys, Rongen declared:

“I think at any stage of a coach’s career, but especially the latter stages of your career, you look at new challenges, new opportunities. As a Dutchman…we love to travel, we speak all languages, we embrace new cultures. So, when I looked at this tiny island, American Samoa, in a region I’ve never been to, from a personal standpoint I was attracted to that. From a professional standpoint, being able to manage a team through World Cup qualifying is something special as well.”

This suggests that, even though he was the only applicant for the position, the real Thomas Rongen was genuinely excited by the opportunity.

6 Nicole Megaloudis Didn’t Die Just Before Rongen Joined American Samoa

His life was affected by personal tragedy.

In order to maximize dramatic effect, Next Goal Wins makes several changes to the real timeline. One alteration concerns the tragic passing of Nicole Megaloudis. The movie suggests that Rongen’s stepdaughter died just before he joined American Samoa, contributing to his turbulent state of mind. In truth, Megaloudis died several years before the events of the movie – although Rongen did continue to wear her school cap as shown on screen.

5 Rongen Wasn’t Estranged From His Wife, Gail

The couple are still married today.

In the fictionalized Next Goal Wins, a romantic subplot involving Rongen’s estranged wife, Gail (played by Elizabeth Moss), and an obnoxious soccer executive simmers in the background. This entire storyline, however, was made up for the film. In reality, the real Rongen and Gail are still married to this day. Rongen has also stated in interviews (via History vs Hollywood) that Gail came with him to American Samoa and even befriended several of the players.

4 Rongen Didn’t Really Have A Drinking Problem

It was invented for the movie.

Next Goal Wins depicts Rongen as a somewhat cynical figure who is restored by his experiences with this team. While the real Rongen was undoubtedly shaped by his time as coach, many aspects of his character were made up for dramatic effect, including his supposed problems with alcohol. This addition is an example of Waititi embellishing key details to create a more compelling narrative arc – something he confirmed in an interview with The Washington Post. As he told the paper, “Who wants to watch a movie where everyone’s nice and there’s no conflict?“

3 Taika Waititi’s Character Was Made Up For The Movie

He’s not the only fictional character.

As a comedic side character, Taika Waititi’s on-screen role in Next Goal Wins is very minimal. However, although his performance as a priest has little bearing on the plot, it’s important to note that no such character existed in the real Next Goal Wins story. Alongside the likes of Will Arnett’s fictitious Alex Magnussen and Rhys Darby’s Rhys Marlin, Waititi’s character is a further example of Next Goal Wins taking liberties with the truth.

2 Jaiyah Saelua And Rongen Never Clashed Over Identity

It’s a controversial change

A key conflict in the generally feel-good Next Goal Wins is Rongen’s initial reluctance to accept Jaiyah Saelua’s fa’afafine transgender identity – though he does eventually come round. The truth, however, was that Rongen was immediately accepting of Saelua’s identity from the start. According to History vs Hollywood:

“The real-life Coach Rongen…was entirely tolerant and accepting of Jaiyah from the very beginning, which is evident in both the documentary and interviews with Rongen…

“For example, Coach Rongen never called Jaiyah by an unpreferred name. In fact, in real life, Rongen took it upon himself to immediately ask Jaiyah whether he should use Johnny or Jaiyah, something that impressed the other players.”

Given how this arc reflects on Rongen’s character, the Next Goal Wins change is somewhat controversial.

1 The Movie Completely Misses Out The Documentary

It might have made things complicated.

The biggest change that Waititi’s Next Goal Wins makes to the true story of the American Samoa 2014 World Cup campaign is that it ignores the presence of a documentary crew throughout. In real life, the journey was cataloged by the filmmakers, who allowed individuals to share their personal stories as the team came together. Arguably, this helped bond a better team spirit. However, the documentary’s existence is understandably ignored in Next Goal Wins in order to avoid straying into genre-bending meta territory.

Sources: Hollywood vs History, The Washington Post, HeyUGuys