“Forever” is a Swedish coming-of-age-in-soccer drama that breaks just enough of the conventions of the genre to feel new and novel.

There is a third act “Big Game,” but is takes a back seat to the human drama playing out between two 15 year old girls. There are personality clashes and “tests,” but they aren’t all “character/team building.” And there are a lot of decisions that, made rashly or rationally, don’t always turn out “for the best.

Kia and Mila are 14 year old besties when we meet them, teens who do almost everything together, including playing soccer for the 14 year-old girls’ club in their hometown of Linden.

They’re both good enough at the game to shout “You’re the BEST” (in Swedish), “YOU’RE the best” at each other as they bicycle home after every practice.

Kia’s supportive parents have Mila over for dinner, drive them both to practices and matches whenever Mila — who is often late — shows up. But Kia (Judith Sigfridsson) is almost 15, a good student and noticing boys.

But Mila (Flutra Cela) to a single mom, a Serbian immigrant (Eleftheria Gerofoka) who nags her about grades, excelling in the Swedish language and just doing her damned homework. Mom no longer has to remind her of “what we went through to get you out of Kosovo.” Milandra has that memorized.

The problem is, Mila doesn’t “give a f–k” about school or any that. Football is what she studies, on the pitch or in her room, manipulating the ball, polishing her footwork. And having rage and impulse control issues, she isn’t shy about sharing that opinion LOUDLY with anybody who crosses her.

When we see her play, we get it. There isn’t much in the way of special effects needed in showing us the girl’s got game — dazzling footwork, cultivated instincts, stamina, a desire to excell and star built on fierce competitiveness.

When Lollo (Agnes Lindström Bolmgren), a former pro and star of the Swedish national team shows up and offers to take over coaching the club, everybody’s thrilled, and Mila figures she and Kia are one step closer to realizing their dream.

But the headstrong, ball-hogging star is destined to clash with the establish-authority/instill-discipline coach. This will test the team, the coach, the players and the Mila and Kia’s bond.

Is it “their” dream, after all?

The Jessica Jankert script tells this tale almost wholly from Mila’s point of view, and that’s tricky. The girl is so focused she’s scary, and obnoxious.

“Benched” because she refuses to pass the ball? “But I’m the f—king BEST!?”

Forced to do laps for every minute she’s late? Bring it on. Forced to realize teammates don’t necessarily relish her as a teammate? She’ll play one against the entire team.

An injury due to her ego, a near ejection because of her temper and sense of grievance, shoes she needs more than the rich swell who owns them, she is a model of self-serving behavior living through an undisciplined childhood.

Her rage is “your worst enemy” and her “greatest asset.” Lollo sees great things, and maybe personal advancement in this teenager on the first club she’s ever coached.

Cela’s performance is so grating and rebellious and recognizable that any parent watching this should marvel, and be thankful you’re not raising this jerk. Cela makes her as convincingly testy, self-absorbed and lost off the field as on it.

I like the way it is implied that Lollo wants to force the submissive femininity out of her girls, bring out their aggression and (it is implied) make themselves less Swedish. The success of the Swedish national women’s team is a testament to that sort of club level training and indoctrination.

I also like the way adults and kids make bad decisions in this film. And consquences might be delayed, or forgotten altogether. Because if you want to make it into professional sports, everything else — family priorities and moral upbringing included — is going to take a back seat.

“Forever” is still formulaic, still a bit soft in its cause-and-effect behaviors, many of which seem to lack consequences. But it sits comfortably above other less engaging coming-of-age girls’ soccer stories like “Her Best Move” and “Gringa.”

And as how “Next Goal Wins” is more of a comedy than a “soccer movie” (and not particularly funny either), “Forever” gets my vote as the best soccer movie out there at the moment.

Rating: TV-14, profanity

Cast: Flutra Cela, Judith Sigfridsson, Eleftheria Gerofoka,
Mustapha Aarab, Joel Forslund-Nylén and Agnes Lindström Bolmgren

Credits: Directed by Anders Hazelius, scripted by Jessika Jankert. A Netflix release.

Running time: 1:43