Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’  Scores First Trailer

Next Goal Wins brought its first trailer at CinemaCon in Las Vegas Wednesday.

The soccer feature from Taika Waititi is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name, and follows the national football team of American Samoa and their rise from underdogs to winners under Dutch coach Thomas Rongen as they attempt to become a FIFA World Cup-qualifying outfit.

Set to ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me,” the trailer begins with Michael Fassbender’s Rongen being fired and sent to American Samoa for a new job. He has his work cut out for him, as the team has suffered loss after loss, and has not scored a single goal.

And though filmmaker Waititi is an Oscar winner, the marketing opted to focus on his losses — including the Teen Choice Award for Thor: Ragnarok. After all, a winning story is made all the more satisfying if it comes from someone who has lost.

The cast also includes Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss, David Fane, Beulah Koale Oscar Kightley and Lehi Falepapalangi. Searchlight has a date of Nov. 17 for the film.

This marks Fassbender’s first big-screen role since 2019, when he was among the leads of X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Waititi was last in theaters with Thor: Love and Thunder, the Marvel Studios film that was released last year.