Editor’s Note: In the first of two posts, Front Row remembers the dramatic U.S. Women’s National Team victory in the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Today, Brandi Chastain discusses her historic winning goal over China. Next Saturday, former National Team goalkeeper Briana Scurry describes her performance in the net which secured the victory.
Brandi Chastain will be part of ESPN’s FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage in Germany later this month as a studio analyst, and she’s no stranger to the bright spotlight.
Chastain was part of the golden era of U.S. women’s soccer during her seven years (1988-2004) with the National Team. She played on two FIFA World Cup champions (1991 and ’99) and two gold medal-winning Olympic teams (1996 and 2004).
In the video above, she describes the signature moment of her career: the unforgettable penalty kick goal she scored in front of a sold-out Rose Bowl to help the U.S. defeat China in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup title match. The image of Chastain scoring the goal and ripping off her jersey is iconic, and the match remains the most-watched soccer event in U.S. television history with an audience of 18 million viewers on ABC.
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ESPN’s soccer coverage continues this weekend with two matches. Today at 4 p.m. on ESPN, the U.S. men host 2010 FIFA World Cup champion and world No. 1 Spain in Foxboro, Mass. The U.S. Women’s host Mexico Sunday at 2 p.m. (ESPN2 and ESPN3.com) in the U.S. side’s final match before departing for the Women’s World Cup. Ian Darke and Julie Foudy will call the match with reporter Bob Holtzman, and Bob Ley and Chastain will host studio segments.
Look for more Women’s World Cup coverage next week when Front Row takes you inside the final talent and production meetings in Bristol before our crew heads off to Germany.
