What The 1999 USA Women's World Cup Soccer Team Looks Like Now

For girls who grew up playing soccer in the 1990s, the 1999 Women's World Cup was a pivotal moment. If you're a former soccer player of a certain age, the process of watching as the championship game between the U.S. Women's National Team (USNWT) and China turned into a shoot-out — then waiting with baited breath as Briana Scurry made amazing saves, and immediately erupting into celebration when Brandi Chastain made the game-winning goal — is seared into your memory. 

In the wake of the 1999 victory, more and more girls became interested in playing soccer, both within the United States and internationally; in fact, according to U.S. Youth Soccer (via Forbes), girls' participation in high school soccer increased 45 percent from 1999 to 2014. It'll be 20 years in the summer of 2019 since that momentous victory (where has time gone?), and we've got the scoop on where the 1999 USWNT, known as the '99ers, are now.  

As the second-string, backup goaltender during the 1999 World Cup, Saskia Webber may not have had any time on the field during the tournament, but she became known for her unflagging support of her teammates, as well as her red, white, and blue spray-painted hair. In an interview with The New York Times just after the USWNT's World Cup victory, Weber reflected on the fact that although she never left the bench during the tournament, saying that ”If I never become No. 1, I can retire and say I've done everything I could... maybe I couldn't be better than Bri [Scurry], but I was good enough for me.”

After the World Cup, she played for the USWNT until 2000. She then continued playing professionally for the Philadelphia Charge from 2000-2001, and later for the New York Power from 2001-2003. Webber has took up TV hosting, appearing in On Q Live, which covered current events and pop culture through an LGBTQ lens, Q Television's Country Fried Christmas, and the QTN Holiday Reel. According to her Linkedin page, she's been the director of goalkeeping for the LA Bulls Soccer Club since 2016.

The captain of the USWNT from 2000-2004, Julie Foudy also led the USWNT to silver and gold medals in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. During that time, she also played professionally for the San Diego Spirit until her retirement in 2004. Since then, she's been busy adding to her tally of achievements: she joined ESPN as a commentator and analyst in 1998 — and in so doing, as USA Today noted, became "one of the first women to serve in that role for top-tier international soccer events on U.S. television." In fact, she's done so well that she signed a multi-year extension contract with ESPN in 2017.

Foudy has also excelled as a leadership expert and book author. In 2006 she founded the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy for girls aged 9-18, and she authored Choose to Matter: Your Guide to Being Courageously You in 2017, noting that "For too long I equated leadership with a position. ...I thought you had to be in a position to impact lots and lots of people (someone I certainly was not), to lead... [but] leadership is personal, not positional." She was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007.

Joy Fawcett, who was described as "a fierce central defender," remained with the USWNT until her retirement in 2004. During her post-1999 time with the USWNT, she played in 2000 and 2004 Olympics, as well as the 2003 Women's World Cup — and by the time she retired, she was the highest-scoring defender in women's soccer history. 

Off the field, Fawcett was also the first international-level women's soccer player to become a mom while still on the USWNT's roster. She's been called the "ultimate soccer mom" after she didn't miss a beat returning to the field after any of her three kids were born: she continued playing for ten years after her first child was born, would breastfeed during halftime, and played every minute of the 1995 Women's World Cup when her firstborn was less than a year old. The New York Times noted in 2001 that Fawcett was "the only known mother of three to be playing in the highest level of any sport," and she's considered a true trailblazer for female professional athletes.  

As of 2016 she was reported to be coaching the U.S. Deaf Women's National Team, and she was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2009.

Tisha Venturini-Hoch, who retired from the USWNT in 2000, played professionally for the San Jose CyberRays from 2001-2003. Upon her retirement from the Cyber-Rays in 2003, she was the first female soccer player to complete the "Grand Slam" of the soccer world: four NCAA titles, an Olympic gold medal, a Women's World Cup win, and a WUSA championship win with the CyberRays. 

Since hanging up her cleats, Venturini has transitioned to coaching, and the mom of two — she and her husband Casey have a son and a daughter — co-founded the Team First soccer camp for elite youth players with Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly. Reflecting on the USWNT's 1999 victory, she told Soccer.com that she was proud of "being a part of that group of people who just were legendary players, of course, but they're some of the most caring, awesome, loyal individuals you could be around," and giving girls the inspiration to pursue their passion for sports.

Considered the best female soccer player in history, Hamm also played in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, as well as the 2003 World Cup, before retiring in 2004. Hamm scored 158 goals over the course of her 18-year career — an all-time scoring record that was held until June 2013, when it was broken by Abby Wambach. In fact, as a tribute to her importance in the world of women's sports, Nike has named the biggest building on its corporate campus after Hamm.

Hamm has been just as extraordinary off the field as she was on it. In the wake of her brother's death due to aplastic anemia, Hamm created the Mia Hamm Foundation — a non-profit that pursues dual goals of both increasing opportunities for women and girls in sports, and of raising awareness and funds for cord blood banking and bone marrow transplants. She also authored three books, and after her retirement, Hamm and her husband, former baseball all-star Nomar Garciaparra, had three children (twins Ava and Grace were born in 2007, and son Garrett was born in 2012). In addition to motherhood, she has continued her involvement in coaching, management, and advocacy.

Cindy Parlow Cone continued to be a key player on the USWNT after their '99 victory, and she played in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics as well as the 2003 World Cup. Although she was a forced to be reckoned with, a mini-stroke caused by soccer-related head injuries forced her to retire in 2004. After eleven years on the international circuit, she wasn't ready to hang up her cleats — but she knew that it would be reckless to risk further brain injury.

Since her retirement, she's become the face of Safer Soccer, an initiative that aims to raise the age at which players are allowed to head the ball. She has also become involved in coaching, acting as the head coach for the Portland Thorns during the inaugural 2012-2013 season of the National Women's Soccer League, a member of the coaching staff for the Girl's National Team, and later coaching for an elite girl's team in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2018. 

Described as a "pioneering star whose career represents the evolution of the women's game" whose skill and renown flourished "before the news media paid much attention to women's soccer, Michelle Akers is also considered to be one of the best players in history. The oldest member of the '99ers, she withdrew from the team in 2000 and officially retired in 2001. Upon her retirement, she was the USWNT's second all-time leading scorer.

She racked up a list of accolades to match her extraordinary career, earning FIFA's nomination as the Female Player of the 20th Century in 2000. Additionally, in 2004 soccer's greatest legend, Pele, selected her as one of only two women on a list of the 125 best living soccer players. She was also inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.

Akers has been busy in her retirement: she wrote a book and gives talks as a motivational speaker, and she's also passionate about equine rescue. Living on an eight-acre ranch outside Atlanta, Georgia, Akers now takes care of abandoned, abused, and neglected horses and raises funds for other horse sanctuaries and animal welfare organizations. 

After winning the '99 Women's World Cup, Milbrett remained an integral part of the team until 2005 — and during her tenure with the USWNT, Tiffeny Milbrett played in the 2000 Olympics and the 2003 Women's World Cup. One of the leading scorers for the American women, Millbrett was named U.S. Soccer's female athlete of the year in both 2000 and 2001. After spending two years playing for the New York Power — and becoming the leading scorer in WUSA history — she went on to play for teams in Japan, Canada, and Sweden.

Since retiring in 2010, Milbrett has been coaching youth soccer in California and Colorado, where she has focused on working with children and teenage athletes. Described as "one of the most dangerous scorers" on the '99 team and "a ruthless attacker on the field" who was the life of the party when not competing, she was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2018. 

Although Sarah Whalen left the USWNT after their 1999 victory, she went on to play for the New York Power before her career ended in 2002, when her ACL and MCL were torn during a game against the Carolina Courage. She suffered a near-fatal infection that led to several ligaments being removed from her knee.

Since then, she has bounced back in more ways than one, and she's amassed a remarkable list of off-field victories. After undergoing reconstructive knee surgery, she trained for and ran in the 2004 New York Marathon, which marked a notable comeback after all her medical complications. "The marathon is one of my greatest accomplishments," she said during an interview with the U.S. Soccer Federation. "I am seriously beyond proud of myself for that. That was definitely a great, defining moment for me." She also went on to earn her Master's and Ph.D. in psychology, and the mom of three — now Dr. Sarah Hess — is a practicing psychologist in Connecticut.  

After the 1999 World Cup, Danielle Garrett Fotopoulos continued to play with the USWNT until 2005 — and at the time of her departure, she ranked as the team's 17th all-time leading scorer. Also a member of the Carolina Courage, she retired as one of the league's leading scorers in 2007 after repeated ACL tears left her sidelined. Discussing her retirement with the U.S. Soccer Federation, Fotopoulos said that "being a part of this team, being part of something bigger than myself, is something I will always treasure." 

Since then, she's been active in the coaching world: She and her husband George co-coached at Louisiana State University from 2003-2004, then at the University of Florida (which is also her alma mater) in 2005. She's been the head coach of the NCAA Division II women's soccer program at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida since 2010 — and when she's not on the field, she's mom to four kids.