31-0. Even the most enthusiastic fantasy footballer’s credulity would be stretched by this score. It’s ludicrous on first and last viewing. You’d be mistaken for thinking this was a rugby score, however this is not the case. In 2001, during the FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, Australia set the world record for the largest ever international football victory against American Samoa. This defeat propelled an island in the middle of the Pacific into unfortunate infamy as one of the world’s worst sides. Numerous overtures were made and rejected to film the team, but thirteen years later, the plucky British pair, Mike Brett and Steve Jarmison, created Next Goal Wins, documenting American Samoa’s journey to rebuild national pride under the stewardship of Dutch manager Thomas Rongen.
I was and am a football fanatic, and at the age of thirteen, I vividly recall dragging my mother to see the movie at the local cinema when it first came out. My mother didn’t completely share my passion, she might even have been a tad irritated by my insistence to go; but afterwards she was googling AS merch like there was no tomorrow. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this documentary was all about football but it resonates far beyond that – it’s a narrative of human perseverance and determination and, naturally, we all love an underdog story.
For context, defeats for American Samoa were not unheard of. Yes, 31-0 is an outrageously bad score-line but it wasn’t exactly surprising. This was a country that four days prior lost 13-0 to Fiji, followed by an 8-0 loss to neighbours Samoa and less than a year before 18-0 to Tahiti. A 5-0 defeat to Tonga three days after the Australian annihilation must have felt like a relative victory.
The only real parallel in the English game is Southampton FC who, in the space of fifteen months in 2019 to 2021, lost 9-0 at home to Leicester and 9-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. The mental toll it took on the players was evident with their subsequent relegation. ‘The Theatre of Dreams turned into our Theatre of Nightmares’ said Saints left-back Ryan Bertrand and he wasn’t wrong. In contrast to the American Samoans, the luxury of generous Premier League wages no doubt softened the blow.
The American Samoans also had the weight of their whole country’s hopes and dreams on their shoulders, not just the Saints’ seasoned expectations. The hapless goalkeeper Nick Salapu, American Samoa’s most-capped player, said to the BBC World Service, ‘I was trying to keep all the emotion in to wait until the game was over’. He admitted to breaking down and crying, feeling as if the nation’s heartbreak was too much.
Later Salapu questioned the unsportsmanlike attitude of that Australian team after continuous bombardment of the goal. ‘How many goals do you need for differential?’ he says. Following the disappointment of not making it to the 1998 World Cup, this Australian team had something to prove, and they didn’t take any prisoners.
The overall picture was bleak and it wasn’t getting any better. A decade following this outrageous defeat, American Samoa had racked up 38 consecutive defeats, a goal difference of minus 217 as well as the bottom place in the FIFA ranking.
In stepped Thomas Rongen. It was 2011.
The Dutchman had played with the likes of George Best and Dutch legend Yohan Cruyff. However, having suffered a family bereavement and depression, he had an acute understanding of heartache. He was also fresh from being fired as the USA Men’s Under 21’s coach. ‘Are you daft?’ asked his wife Gail Megaloudis when she learned about his new role, but Rongen saw the untapped potential of turning around this country’s misfortune. He ventured 8,860km south to try to make the difference. And he did.
On the 22nd November, 2011, American Samoa defeated Tonga 2-1. The last time they had recorded a victory in a competitive game was in 1984. It had taken two months for Rongen to reverse their fortunes.
The documentary comically portrays Rongen’s exuberance, rough demeanour and frustration as he slowly pushes his players to improve. His ‘never-give-up’ attitude rubbed off on the team, he brought back a confidence as yet unseen and threw himself into the inclusivity of the local culture. His relationship with his players was almost Klopp-esque, they all loved him and pushed themselves to the limit to achieve their collective goal. Ironically two years later- after a 30 year wait for the title – Klopp himself said, ‘You have to change from doubter to believer’ in his very first Liverpool press conference. Perhaps he even watched the documentary and was inspired by Rongen. The underdogs were now the top dogs.
It is a story of a nation overcoming football heartbreak, but it is also a story of unprecedented tolerance of diversity that is acutely relevant to 2024 issues. The hero of that Tonga victory was Jaiyah Saelua, a transgender player, whose clearance off the line in the last minute ensured the longest wait in international football history was over. She made history as the world’s first openly transgender football player to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. Born Fa’afafine, a recognized third gender in Samoan culture since 16th century, the documentary explores not just her talent on the pitch, but the emotional struggles and prejudice she faced in a sport dominated by rigid gender norms.
By the standards of 2011, Rongen’s support of her was progressive and enlightened. In the world of professional football, a decade ago, less than a handful of players had come out as gay and to this day, there are no transgender players. Yet in this a tiny island in the Pacific it was accepted and celebrated. Other countries should take note.
Mark Kermode’s 2014 review noted, ‘this charming and uplifting documentary will have you cheering for the underdogs and wishing that all footballers were this humble, determined and plain decent’. If only footballers now weren’t such pre-Madonna’s, they could learn a thing or two about the underdogs who don’t get the same attention.
The review that best describes this documentary was Sherri Linden’s in the Los Angeles Times who said it was, ‘an irresistible underdog story – sports fan credentials not required’. She was right. This documentary is not just about football. It’s about finding self-belief, and in Jaiyah’s case, overcoming pernicious prejudice on and off the pitch. Incredibly, history repeated itself. In August 2024, Thomas Rongen returned to his role as head coach, and masterminded another win beating the Cook Islands 2-1. How far can he go this time? Only time will tell – but this time, we’ll all be following it. “Next Goal Wins 2” anyone?
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