Netflix to make movie on 1999 World Cup-winning USWNT team

Netflix has announced that it will make a feature film about the 1999 U.S. women’s national team, which won the World Cup on home soil.

The streaming giant has acquired the rights to Jere Longman’s book, “The Girls of Summer: The US Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed The World.”

Liza Chasin (Darkest Hour, Baby Driver, Love Actually) will produce the movie, along with Hayley Stool and Ross Greenburg.

President and CEO of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Marla Messing, Jill Mazursky, and Krista Smith will serve as executive producers.

The 1999 Women’s World Cup is seen as a transformative moment in the history of the women’s game, with the USWNT packing stadiums all over the country that summer. 

The tournament culminated with the final at the Rose Bowl in Southern California, with the U.S. emerging victorious in a penalty shootout against China after 120 scoreless minutes.

USWNT defender Brandi Chastain produced an instantly iconic moment when she ripped her shirt off after scoring the World Cup-winning penalty.

The World Cup win was the USWNT’s second after they also took home the inaugural event in 1991. The team has gone on to win two more World Cups, in 2015 and 2019.

“Watching the USA team that summer made me forget I had no money and little more than a dream to feed me,” said Tendo Nagenda, vice president of Netflix Films. 

“That team, that goal, and Brandi Chastain’s unforgettable reaction – in which she ripped off her shirt and dropped to her knees in astonishment – made me believe I could do anything, and do it my way.

“But even more important than this landmark victory itself, the “kick that shook the world” also sent long-term reverberations throughout sports that can still be felt today.

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“It dominated headlines all summer and turned Chastain, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm and the rest of the ‘99ers into role models.

“It transformed millions of new converts into soccer fans. It led to more funding and recognition for women’s soccer around the world, including helping establish the first professional North American women’s soccer league.

“But most importantly, it started important conversations about gender in sports – propelling women’s leagues forward all over the world, and inspiring an entire generation of young girls to dream bigger, thus paving the way for Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and so many others to aspire to represent Team USA.”