The 2000s soccer movie players, fans and celebrities keep putting at the top of their watchlists

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You can’t escape World Cup fever right now — and why would you want to? 

As the 2026 tournament gets underway, consider this your soccer movie watchlist, featuring recommendations from Yahoo staffers, celebrity fans and players. 

What we learned: Pretty much everyone loves Bend It Like Beckham. More than 20 years after its release, it’s the closest thing to a universal pick. And nostalgia hits home. Several picks are childhood faves (She’s the Man and Ladybugs), but the list spans comedies, dramas and documentaries that capture the culture and passion of the sport.  

After you’ve read our faves, we’d like to hear yours. Tell us your favorite soccer movie in the comments — or give us a red card if you think we missed an obvious classic. 

Do I know any soccer movies? Oh! ‘Bend it Like Beckham.’Geena Davis (actor, “The Boroughs”)

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The Damned United (2009)

Sure, there are historical inaccuracies. Sure, Brian Clough’s family criticized its “ludicrous interpretation” of real events. But The Damned United remains one of the best soccer films ever made.

The 2009 drama follows Clough’s disastrous 44-day spell as Leeds United manager in 1974. Michael Sheen is remarkable as Clough, capturing the charisma, stubbornness and force of nature that made him both brilliant and controversial. 

The film allows us to enjoy some of Clough’s greatest one-liners, including his famous response when asked on a British talk show if he listened to players’ opinions: “Well, I ask him which way he thinks it should be done. We get down to it, and we talk about it for 20 minutes, and then we decide I was right.”

More than that, The Damned United also serves as a reminder of what soccer used to be before the gritty, uncompromising era where Clough flourished gave way to the corporate, sanitized version of today’s “beautiful game.” — Stuart Henderson

Bend It Like Beckham (2002) 

Before women’s soccer received the attention it does today, Bend It Like Beckham put female athletes at the center of a winning sports movie. The surprise hit follows British-Indian teen Jess (Parminder Nagra), who’s torn between her family’s expectations and her love of the game. Funny and heartfelt, the surprise hit tackles gender, culture, family, identity and belonging alongside plenty of footie. It also had a perfect sports movie moment when Jess’s dad gives her the OK to leave her sister’s wedding to go to a game. Bend It Like Beckham also helped launch Keira Knightley to stardom and showcased memorable early performances by Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Archie Panjabi, adding even more charm. — Suzy Byrne

My favorite soccer movie is actually ‘The Big Green.’ It’s an old classic one. I just loved it so much growing up. I’m not sure if a lot of people know about it.Christian Pulisic (Team USA forward, aka “Captain America”)

She’s the Man (2006) 

A fun, flirty, sports-adjacent classic, She’s the Man is exactly the film to queue up when you’re craving peak noughties nostalgia. Loosely adapted from Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, it follows soccer-obsessed Viola, played with impeccable comic timing by Amanda Bynes, as she disguises herself as her twin brother to prove she has what it takes to play on the prep school’s boy’s soccer team. Naturally, because this is the 2000s, chaos, mistaken identities and one very inconvenient crush ensue (we’re looking at you, Channing Tatum). — Alison Coldridge

Beckham (2023)

Be honest: You’ve no doubt seen the Victoria “I grew up working class despite my dad owning a Rolls Royce” Beckham memes, but have you actually sat down and watched all four-plus hours of the Netflix documentary about Goldenballs’ life and legacy? Most of us know the broad strokes of David Beckham’s story — the soccer stardom, the haircuts, the Posh Spice paparazzi fest — but this series from actor-director Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit, Succession) digs deeper. We learn about young Becks’s upbringing and the pressure put on him as a young athlete; why he faced scorn not only from fans but his own manager too; and how he’s maintained his grip on pop culture more than a decade after retiring. With apologies to Team Brooklyn, it’s hard not to come away charmed. — Erin Donnelly

‘Bend It Like Beckham.’ There’s ‘Shaolin Soccer,’ which is a Chinese movie. Stephen Chow is fantastic. Of course, ‘She’s the Man’ too.Bowen Yang (comedian, actor and host of “Las Culturistas” podcast)

LFG (2021) 

If you’re more interested in the stories behind the game than the soccer itself, LFG is the movie for you. Filmed between 2019 and 2021 during the women’s national soccer team’s fight for equal pay, it follows superstars Megan Rapinoe, Jessica McDonald, Becky Sauerbrunn and Kelley O’Hara as they ponder their huge success against the backdrop of working second jobs and struggling for equity while the men’s team enjoys eye-watering salaries. If you can hold back tears as chants of “USA, USA” turn to “equal pay, equal pay,” your heart is harder than mine. — Harriet Sinclair

Can I say ‘Bend It Like Beckham’? Is that allowed? It’s my favorite soccer movie.Tim Howard (former Team USA goalkeeper and analyst)

The Hand of God (2021)

Few players have transformed a city the way Diego Maradona transformed Naples, Italy. The Argentine soccer superstar signed with the local club Napoli in 1984 — and helped turn the underdogs into champions. The coming-of-age drama The Hand of God is set against the backdrop of Maradona’s arrival, but it’s about much more than soccer. It follows a passionate teenage fan — partly based on writer/director Paolo Sorrentino — growing up in a city united by its obsession with the sport. Moving, thoughtful and beautifully shot, the film is a reminder that soccer’s biggest impact is often felt far from the field. — Tom Parfitt

‘Ladybugs.’ It’s a classic. My brother and I grew up watching it. When you think about it now, it’s so tone-deaf, but as a kid, it was one of my favorite soccer movies. The best line was, ‘Get those nail breakers.’ It was an awesome little movie.”Ashlyn Harris (two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and subject of Roku’s “Gamechangers: The Ashlyn Harris Story” documentary)

The Big Green (1995) 

The Big Green(1995) 

If you (or your kid) are drawn to the ’90s era of plucky sports movies starring actual kids, there are slim pickings for soccer fans: It’s Air Bud: World Pup, or this 1995 charmer starring Steve Guttenberg, Olivia d’Abo and a slew of child actors you’ll recognize from other movies (Ham! Squints! Alfalfa!). Both involve a pretty, blond Englishwoman teaching Americans about the beautiful game, but, with apologies to Buddy the dog, this one has more heart. Here, bored kids in a small town in Texas find purpose and friendship through the soccer games their new (British) teacher forces them to compete in. There’s a little romance, a still-timely immigration subplot and … a green goat. What more does family movie night need? — Erin Donnelly

My favorite football-soccer movie is ‘Rudo y Cursi,’ with Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. It’s about Mexican football culture, but it’s also a really good representation of Mexican comedy. It’s dark humor, but I love it. My second favorite is ‘Goal!’ That’s the one we all grew up with, with Kuno Becker — the story about a guy who goes to Newcastle and makes his dream come true through hard work. And my third one is also a classic: ‘Bend It Like Beckham.’Cristo Fernández (athlete and actor, “Ted Lasso”)

Rudo y Cursi (2009)

Eight years after their breakout performances in Y tu mamá también, Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal partnered up to play half brothers from a tiny, rural town in Mexico who share a dream of becoming big-city soccer stars. 

After being discovered by a traveling talent scout, the constantly quarreling duo achieve their goal of playing professionally in Mexico City, but are driven apart when Bernal’s charismatic goal scorer becomes a national hero while Luna’s surly goalkeeper struggles with life away from his family.

Along the way, they earn the nicknames Rudo and Cursi, which roughly translate to tough and corny, based on their wildly different personalities. There’s plenty of drama, sure, but the movie really sings when it lets its two stars show off their effortless chemistry as they chide, ridicule and embrace each other. — Mike Bebernes

It’s ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ because it gave us Keira Knightley. That’s paid off.Matt Rogers (comedian and host of “Las Culturistas” podcast)