| Goal! III: Taking on the World | |
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DVD Cover |
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| Directed by | Andrew Macaco |
| Produced by | Mike Jefferies Matt Barrelle Peter Heslop Danny Stepper |
| Written by | Mike Jefferies Piers Ashworth |
| Starring | JJ Feild Leo Gregory Kuno Becker Nick Moran Tamer Hassan |
| Music by | Mark Thomas |
| Cinematography | George Tiffin |
| Editing by | Giles Bury |
| Release date(s) | June 15, 2009 |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | English |
Goal! III: Taking on the World is the third part of the association football Goal! film trilogy, directed by Andrew Morahan written and produced by Mike Jefferies from the first two Goal! films. Unlike its two predecessors, this film did not have a theatrical release and was instead released on 15 June 2009 straight to DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom.
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In the third installment of the football drama trilogy Goal!, Kuno Becker returns as Mexican footballer Santiago Muñez, who, along with his best friends and England national team players Charlie Braithwaite (Leo Gregory) and Liam Adams (JJ Feild), are selected for their respective national teams at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals in Germany. This time round, Muñez is not the main character of the film (he has very little screen time) with that role going to Liam Adams and Charlie Braithwaite.
However, as the three attend the shooting of a film Braithwaite is featured in, tragedy befalls them. All three best friends and Braithwaite's new love interest and soon to be fiancée Sophia Tardelli (played by Kasia Smutniak) suffer a car accident which puts Muñez out of contention through injuries. Meanwhile, Liam Adams discovers to his horror that he has a new daughter, Bella, from former love interest June (played by Anya Lahiri). This only adds to Liam's preexisting alcoholism and release from Real Madrid. It is revealed that Muñez is set to return to England as a Tottenham Hotspur player under a two-year contract, along with Adams, who re-signs from Newcastle United, the original club of both ex-Real players. The film goes on to depict the World Cup from the English perspective. Liam scores against Sweden (2-2), assisted by a header from Charlie, and England successfully qualify for the knock-out stages. However, in the match against Ecuador, Braithwaite is injured, and later collapses in the changing room. Braithwaite is rushed to hospital, and dies on the way from an aneurysm (from the car accident). England crash out of the quarter-finals against Portugal as Adams misses a crucial penalty against Portuguese keeper Ricardo while Cristiano Ronaldo converts.
Adams later proposes June to marry him. Santiago Munez is the Best Man. During his wedding speech he remembers Charlie and his eyes get teary. As confetti is thrown on Liam and June, Italy are shown lifting the World Cup Trophy after beating France on penalties in the final.
Also following the tournament around Germany in their St. George's Cross festooned camper van are the "Geordie Boys", whom we first met back in the first Goal! film. Providing the entertaining fans' perspective of the matches are Newcastle United die-hards Gordon (Mike Elliott), Foghorn (Christopher Fairbank), Walter (Jack McBride), and Phil (Craig Heaney) in their drunken, womanizing adventures in Germany.
Unlike in the first two films, Roz, Glen Foy, and Gavin Harris do not feature in the film. Santiago implies that he and Roz did not get back together following their separation, whereas the fates of Foy and Harris are unknown. All actual professional footballers are shown through stock World Cup footage. The sporting role of the actors in this film is limited to the green screen. In selected scenes, an unknown bald man is used as a double for Sven-Göran Eriksson.
The St Anne's Afro Caribbean Centre in Nottingham provided the extras for the Trinidad and Tobago supporters, also students from the University of Nottingham.
Appearances were made by the following professional footballers and officials at the FIFA World Cup via stock footage only.
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