England's hopes of ending a wait stretching back to 1966 have fallen short once again, leaving Thomas Tuchel and his Three Lions to watch the World Cup final rather than play in it. That final, a blockbuster clash between Lionel Messi's Argentina and Lamine Yamal's Spain, kicks off this Sunday evening at 8pm at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, and it will do so without Jude Bellingham on the pitch, a detail that still stings for a lot of supporters. None of that has done anything to cool football fever, though, and there's no better way to spend the countdown to kickoff than working through three genuinely great football films.
The sport has inspired filmmakers for decades, so narrowing things down to just three picks wasn't straightforward. Films such as Mike Bassett: England Manager, The Damned United, Next Goal Wins and the perennially rewatchable Goal! all had their supporters, and plenty of fans will have their own personal favourites that didn't make the cut. Still, the three chosen here span wartime drama, definitive documentary and feel-good comedy, and each one earns a spot on a World Cup weekend watchlist.
Get the snacks ready, pour a drink, and settle in for a triple bill that captures pretty much everything that makes this sport worth obsessing over.
Escape To Victory (1981)
Director: John Huston. Runtime: 1hr 56m. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow, Pelé, Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles.
Huston's 1981 classic takes a loosely fact-based premise, a group of Allied prisoners of war during the Second World War, and turns it into a story where a football match against a ruthless German side becomes a matter of life, death and freedom. What makes the film unforgettable isn't just its plot but its unlikely cast list: Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine share screen time with genuine footballing royalty, including Pelé, Bobby Moore and Osvaldo Ardiles. Strip away the star power, and the film still holds up as one of the finest depictions of the sport ever put on screen, built around a message about the resilience of the human spirit that mirrors everything great about the game itself. Casting Stallone as a goalkeeper still raises eyebrows decades on, but somehow that's part of its charm. It's available to buy or rent digitally through Amazon, Apple TV and Sky Store.
Diego Maradona (2019)
Director: Asif Kapadia. Runtime: 2hrs 10m.
Asif Kapadia, the filmmaker behind acclaimed documentaries on Ayrton Senna and Amy Winehouse, turned his attention to Diego Armando Maradona for this 2019 film, assembled from more than 500 hours of previously unseen footage. It traces Maradona's journey from the poverty of Villa Fiorito to World Cup-winning glory at the 1986 tournament in Mexico, and then to a near-religious standing during his years at Napoli in Italy. This isn't a simple underdog story, though: Maradona's life is tangled up with organised crime connections, addiction, extraordinary highs on the pitch and reckless lows off it. Kapadia resists passing judgement on his subject, instead presenting both the man and the myth and letting audiences reach their own conclusions. The film's own promotional tagline sums up the balancing act neatly: "Rebel. Hero. Hustler. God." Whether or not football interests you, it's a documentary that's genuinely difficult to look away from. It's also available to buy or rent digitally through Amazon, Apple TV and Sky Store.
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Director: Gurinder Chadha. Runtime: 1hr 52m. Starring: Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra, Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
David Beckham has been a constant presence at matches during this World Cup, and his influence quietly runs through this early-2000s British comedy too. Parminder Nagra plays Jess, a teenager who defies her Punjabi family's expectations to join an all-women's football team, with Keira Knightley's Jules alongside her as a teammate and friend. Between training sessions, matches and family drama, Jess is chasing the same dream as her idol, Beckham himself. Cameo appearances from Gary Lineker, John Barnes and Alan Hansen add an extra layer of footballing authenticity, rounding out a film that has become a genuine comfort-watch staple over the past two decades. It's currently streaming on Netflix.
Whichever of the three ends up on screen first, all three make ideal company for final day, whether Sunday afternoon is spent building up anticipation or Sunday night is spent replaying the biggest moments once the final whistle has gone.
