As the road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins to narrow, football already feels like it is entering another fever dream. Argentina will arrive carrying the fading gold dust of Lionel Messi’s era, while France once again looks terrifyingly complete with Kylian Mbappé leading another generation of blue-shirted assassins. England is still chasing ghosts from 1966, and Brazil is rebuilding its samba identity after years of tactical recalibration. 

There is also a strange poetic timing to Netflix expanding its football slate ahead of the tournament years. Yet before the World Cup floodlights return, Netflix already houses some of the most compelling football documentaries made in recent years.   

Released in 2023 and directed by Fisher Stevens, Beckham became far more than another celebrity sports documentary. The four-part series peeled back the polished aura around David Beckham and reconstructed the chaos of English football during the late 1990s and early 2000s. From the aftermath of Beckham’s infamous red card against Argentina in the 1998 FIFA World Cup to Manchester United’s historic treble-winning season under Sir Alex Ferguson, the documentary moves like a time capsule.

What makes the series exceptional is its understanding of football culture itself. Old Trafford tunnel footage, the fury of English tabloids, the Galacticos era at Real Madrid, and Beckham bending free kicks like they were engineered in a laboratory all become part of a larger portrait about fame swallowing a footballer whole. 

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That emotional depth has quietly become the backbone of Netflix’s modern sports documentary empire. Which makes the transition into the chaos of international football in Captains of the World feel almost inevitable. 

Netflix released this six-part series in 2023 as an inside look into the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Featuring figures like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, and Gareth Bale, the documentary captures the psychological warfare behind football’s biggest stage. 

Released in 2022, this documentary follows Neymar through the madness of global superstardom. The series examines his rise from Santos wonder kid to Paris Saint-Germain icon while exploring the criticism surrounding his theatrics, injuries, and celebrity image.

This 2021 documentary explores the life of Pelé, still regarded by many old-school supporters as football’s greatest pure phenomenon. Directed by David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas, the film charts Pelé’s rise from poverty in Brazil to becoming the sport’s first truly global superstar. 

Released in 2019, this series follows Diego Maradona during his chaotic managerial spell with Dorados de Sinaloa in Mexico’s second division. The documentary captures the same combustible charisma that once turned Naples into a religious shrine during the 1980s.

This 2018 series offers a rare inside look at Juventus FC during the 2017 and 2018 campaigns.

Few rivalries in world football compare to Boca Juniors versus River Plate, and this 2018 series captures the emotional volatility surrounding Argentine football culture. Focused on Boca Juniors’ 2017 and 2018 season, the documentary mixes locker room intensity with neighborhood passion. 

Released in 2020, this documentary revisits the complicated career of Nicolas Anelka. From Arsenal to Chelsea to Real Madrid, Anelka was football’s eternal drifter, brilliant yet perpetually misunderstood. 

Netflix’s Bad Sport explores football corruption through the infamous 2006 Calciopoli scandal involving Juventus FC and several Serie A clubs. Released in 2021, the episode reveals how match-fixing allegations damaged Italian football’s credibility during one of its most successful eras. 

Released in 2019, this remarkable episode about Torquay United proves football’s greatest stories are not always about trophies. The English club’s desperate 1987 relegation battle becomes a surreal underdog tale involving chaos, luck, and even a police dog changing football history. For supporters raised on promotion and relegation drama, the episode perfectly captures why lower-league football often feels more emotionally authentic than billionaire superclubs.

As football marches toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup, these documentaries offer something deeper than tactical analysis or transfer gossip. They remind viewers why football became the world’s language in the first place, because behind every chant, every derby, and every last-minute goal sits a human story waiting to explode onto the screen.

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Which football documentary on Netflix remains your personal favorite before the World Cup arrives? Share your thoughts in the comments.