Picture this: It’s July 10, 1999, a hot and sunny summer day. You and your siblings have your noses pressed to the screen watching as Brandi Chastain lines up for the USA penalty kick in the final FIFA Women’s World Cup game against China.
You watch with anticipation as Chastain lines up her shot and slams the ball into the top right corner of the goal. On screen, the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA filled with 93,000 fans erupts with cheers. In your neighborhood, the resounding sound of whoops echoes off the bricks and backyard barbecues.
Now, 27 years after the iconic game, the film will be replayed. In May 2025, Netflix announced its intention to create a film based on the 1999 game, celebrating the incredible victory of the U.S. women’s national team. The film, titled The 99’ers, is based on Jere Longman’s novel “The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed the World – A Provocative Look at 1999 Role Models and Off-Field Race, Class, and Gender Issues.”
Actress Zoey Deutch is set to play the U.S. women’s soccer executive Marla Messing. Julia McDermott, Emily Bader, Emilia Jones, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Perry Mattfeld, Annabel O’Hagan, Lizzy Greene, and Isabelle Fuhrman will play members of the team; Alessandro Nivola will play coach Tony DiCicco. Netflix has also tapped Emmy-award winning director Nicole Kassell, who previously directed “The Watchmen” on HBO and “Sirens” on Netflix.
Sophomore Rachel Hren thinks the film will be a huge success for girls in sports. “I think it will show that there are so many opportunities in professional sports, which I think is important because a lot of girls quit sports at an early age,” she said. Hren plays left wing for the high school team in the fall and is currently playing for the Cleveland Cobras club team. “For me, it will be something cool to watch to learn more about the team, because I don’t really follow professional soccer,” Hren said.
Although the release date has not been announced yet, the movie is projected to be out by 2027, falling on the same year as the 10th FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Sophomore Lauren Jalics thinks the movie will encourage more respect for women’s sports. “This team revolutionized women’s soccer in America and really helped the game grow,” she said. “I think this movie will help teach people their story and gain more respect for the game.”
