If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of the many fans around the globe who love soccer, aka football. There’s something about the game’s perfect combination of fast-paced play, simple rules, magnetic players, and tangible passion from stands to field — even people who generally hate sports can’t help but get into it. Whether you’re cheering on your home team and favorite players, gearing up for the next World Cup, or indulging in everyday soccer/football fever, watching the sport (or a movie about it) is always a thrill.

From behind-the-scenes documentaries to heartwarming movies, here are 10 soccer-themed films for you to enjoy. 

Hit play and go for the gooooooooooal! (Sorry, we had to.)

All the Freckles in the World

It’s 1994 and 13-year-old José Miguel (Hanssel Casillas) has just moved to a new school in Mexico City, where everyone is obsessed with the ongoing World Cup. José couldn’t care less about soccer, until he learns his crush-at-first-sight, Cristina Palazuelos (Loreto Peralta), is really into it — so much so that, for years, she’s been dating the school’s best player, Kenji (Luis de la Rosa). “They’ll never break up,” José’s new friends Liliana (Andrea Sutton) and Rodrigo Malo (Alejandro Flores) tell him, but José won’t hear it. Instead, he convinces a group of social outsiders to form a team and sign up for their school’s own “World Cup” championship. José is convinced that with Rodrigo, a 19-year-old repeat freshman who’s had multiple growth spurts ahead of his classmates, they can beat Kenji’s team in the finals and Cristina will be his. People who either love soccer as much as Cristina  or as little as José does will equally enjoy this clever coming-of-age comedy and its lessons about friendship, family dynamics, misrepresenting your true self, and unconscious sexism.

All the Freckles in the World

1h 29m   TV-14   2020

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Anelka: Misunderstood

If you’re someone who watches soccer for the drama — exaggerated injuries, player squabbles, referee back talk — you’ll love this documentary about Nicolas Anelka, the infamous French footballer with a 20-year career full of controversy. Anelka himself addresses all of his hot-button headlines — from instigating a player strike at the 2010 World Cup and being expelled from the team to allegedly flashing an antisemitic gesture after scoring a goal for West Brom in 2013. We also hear from other big names, such as fellow players Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba, plus Arsène Wenger, the French former football manager and player who currently serves as FIFA’s chief of global football development. French director Franck Nataf does his best to dive into the reasons why this talented striker ran on such a short fuse, beginning when Anelka was playing pickup games in the park and continuing on his path playing for Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and onward.

Anelka: Misunderstood

1h 34m   TV-14   2020

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Baggio: The Divine Ponytail

This biopic about one of the most beloved Italian soccer icons of all time is as much about the person as the player. “People love you so much because you showed them you’re human,” Roberto Baggio (Andrea Arcangeli) is told. So while there are great soccer moments throughout — including a memorable scene at the 1994 World Cup — we also appreciate the relationships, conflicts, injuries, recoveries, and conversions that take place off the field during Baggio’s 22-year career. His titular nickname is courtesy of his trademark hairstyle and Buddhist beliefs, uncommon in historically Roman Catholic Italy. As a kid from a working-class family, Baggio has a particularly complicated dynamic with his father (Andrea Pennacchi), who’s skeptical of his son’s soccer ambitions. Even when Baggio announces at the family dinner table that he’s just signed a high-paying contract, his dad’s immediate reply is, “So you can pay for some windows you broke.” Prepare to cheer often and maybe even cry a little bit. 

Baggio: The Divine Ponytail

1h 32m   TV-MA   2021

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The Beautiful Game

Underdog stories are a staple of sports cinema, and this inspiring drama is one you can really root for. Directed by Thea Sharrock, The Beautiful Game is based on the real-life Homeless World Cup, a soccer tournament featuring unhoused athletes from around the world. The film follows the English team as they — guided by their dedicated coach, Mal (played by Oscar nominee Bill Nighy) — prepare for the competition. In the lead-up to their journey to Rome, Mal takes a chance on a talented striker named Vinny (Top Boy’s Micheal Ward) who could boost their chances at winning, but only if he’s ready to let go of his past and become part of the team. “Every player has a story to tell,” Mal tells him in the film. “Heartbreaking, unexpected, thrilling stories. And they tell those stories in one great universal language. And that’s football.” 

The Beautiful Game

2h 5m   PG-13   2024

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The Figo Affair: The Transfer that Changed Football

Settle in for the story behind one of the most contentious exploits in the history of soccer: Luís Figo’s move from FC Barcelona to the archrival team, Real Madrid. In the late ’90s, Figo was a nationally beloved mainstay of his team. But accounts in this documentary suggest that by the summer of 2000, he didn’t feel appreciated. Enter Florentino Pérez, in the running for the Real Madrid presidency, who orchestrated a plot to lure Figo to that team with an unprecedented $75 million. Then FC Barcelona president Joan Gaspart says Figo had called him at midnight, demanding more money to stay. When Gaspart couldn’t meet his request, Figo was off to Real Madrid. But (twist!) Figo now claims that the ultimatum story is a total fabrication. In any case, the trade changed the way soccer deals go down forever, and turned Figo from hero to villain overnight. FC Barcelona fans burned their Figo jerseys, labeled him a traitor, and pelted him on the fieldwith random objects, even infamously hurling a pig’s head at him. This film is full of key players spilling the tea and footage and recordings of integral meetings and phone calls.

The Figo Affair: The Transfer that Changed Football

1h 45m   TV-MA   2022

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The Hand of God

Academy Award–winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino gives us a poignant fictionalized self-portrait of his teenage life. The initial setting is Naples in the ’80s. Napoli  soccer legend Diego Maradona had led the Italian team to victory during the 1986 World Cup with a goal that was technically a handball. Introverted 16-year-old Fabietto (Filippo Scotti) is overjoyed. As the stand-in for young Sorrentino, Fabietto is a massive soccer fan who wants to study philosophy at university. For now, Fabietto lives at home with his parents, Saverio and Maria (Toni Servillo and Teresa Saponangelo), aspiring actor brother Marchino (Marlon Joubert), and a sister who’s always in the bathroom. We’re also treated to multiple encounters with his eccentric, emotionally troubled Aunt Patrizia (Luisa Ranieri), for whom Fabietto has a soft spot. For all its whimsy and humor, this coming-of-age drama also deals with tragedy. It weaves together a beautiful narrative — of fate, family, love, loss, and, of course, soccer.

The Hand of God

2h 10m   R   2021

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Holy Goalie

While its official logline (“A young priest coaches a team of uncoordinated monks in order to win a soccer tournament and save their monastery from being turned into a hotel”) may sound silly, this film is worth every minute. Father Salvador (Alain Hernández) spends his time ministering to youth in Africa but his unorthodox methods (i.e., stealing money from the Vatican) get him into trouble. He’s relocated to Saint Theodosius, a monastery on the verge of closing. He persuades the monk in charge, Father Munilla (Karra Elejalde), to let them compete for the title of Champions Clerum, since there’s no way the Church would allow the destruction of the winning team’s home. With the big-hearted Ramón (El Langui) as his assistant coach and a roster of lovable players — from the soft-spoken Simon (Joel Bosqued) to the charismatic Jesus (Guillermo Furiase) to the pastry-loving Juan Bautista (Paco Rueda) — Father Salvador embarks on a true quest for salvation. 

Holy Goalie

1h 35m   TV-MA   2017

Remind Me

Pelé

The three-time World Cup champion from Brazil, Pelé, needs no introduction. This documentary chronicles his childhood and soccer triumphs, dating from his teenage years on the Santos club and Brazil national teams, all the way to his time with the New York Cosmos before he retired in 1977. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known worldwide as Pelé, gives interviews alongside family members, trainers, journalists, politicians, and legendary teammates, including Jairzinho, Rivellino, and Mário Zagallo. They tell his story, and also the history of the time, touching on Brazil’s dictatorship and political unrest in the ’60s. Through camera confessionals and archival footage, we watch Pelé go from player extraordinaire to national hero in just 12 years. To this day, he’s still the only man to hold three World Cup titles. In some of the doc’s most powerful moments, an 80-year-old Pelé views clips of his younger self and relives it all — the elation, pain, and unmistakable glory of the sport, and the destiny he was called to.

Pelé

1h 48m   TV-14   2021

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The Soccer Football Movie

If you’re in need of a movie to get your kiddos excited about the World Cup, this animated adventure has you covered. An evil scientist has stolen the talent of soccer idols like Swedish striker legend Zlatan Ibrahimović and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe, who are voiced by their real-life counterparts. Now it’s up to four young superfans to help the players regain their abilities. There are monsters; direction from Mitch Schauer (who ’90s kids will know and love from his show The Angry Beavers) and “Weird Al” Yankovic also lends his voice. Everybody wins.  

The Soccer Football Movie

1h 13m   TV-Y7   2022

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Ultras

Sandro (Aniello Arena) is the leader of the Apaches, a gang of soccer fanatics in Naples, Italy, with a bloodlust for violence. They’re always out roughing up “hooligan fans,” aka fellow ultras of rival teams. But now pushing 50 and banned by the police from the soccer arena, Sandro’s over it. So when an Apache member is killed and his teenage brother, Angelo (Ciro Nacca), ends up in his care, Sandro wonders if there’s another way — for his sake and the kid’s. But there’s a potential coup brewing, led by younger member Pechegno (Simone Borrelli), that he’ll have to deal with first. This drama, with its gritty, sometimes hard-to-watch realism, feels so much like a documentary that it flashes a disclaimer at the start to assure us that Ultras is fictional. No Neapolitan ultras were involved in its making. But that doesn’t make the film’s fascinating and nuanced portrayal of soccer fanaticism, gang culture, power struggles, and changes of the heart feel any less real. 

Ultras

1h 49m   TV-MA   2020

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