After successful collaborations on such sports-themed features as "Hoosiers" and "Rudy," director David Anspaugh and writer Angelo Pizzo are teaming for a third time, tackling soccer in "The Game of Their Lives" for Crusader Entertainment, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
The project, based on the book of the same name by Geoffrey Douglas, is the true story of the American soccer team that, in a stunning upset, defeated England in the 1950 World Cup. At that time, the tournament barely registered on America's sports radar, so the United States sent a hastily assembled band of amateur and semiprofessional players, composed chiefly of working-class immigrants. Considered the underdogs, the Americans took on the seemingly unbeatable English squad with surprising results.
Principal photography is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year.