Mike Bassett: England Manager

Watch Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001) online on iFILM — a British football mockumentary directed by Steve Barron and starring Ricky Tomlinson.

When England's manager has a heart attack mid-campaign, the FA works down a short list and lands on Mike Bassett — a lower-league club coach with no tactical imagination and complete confidence in his own judgment. He takes the job and immediately tells the press England will win the World Cup. The film plays as fly-on-the-wall documentary, with press conferences, training-ground footage, and cameos from Martin Bashir and Pelé as themselves. Bradley Walsh, Keith Allen and Amanda Redman fill out a cast that earns every scene.

Anyone who has ever watched England lose and wondered exactly how these decisions get made will find this uncomfortably accurate. Stream it online on iFILM.