10 July 1999 - The US Women Take Two

On 10 July 1999, the United States women won their second World Cup, beating China on penalties and setting an attendance record in the process.

The two teams had grown familiar with one another, meeting three times over the previous five years in the World Cup and the Olympics. The first two of those ended as group-stage draws (3-3 in the 1995 World Cup and 0-0 in the 1996 Summer Olympics). The third was the Olympic Final, which the US won 2-1.

In the 1999 World Cup, they were two of only three teams to emerge from the group stage with wins in all of their matches (Norway was the other). China then beat Norway and Russia to reach the Final, while the US advanced with wins over Germany and Brazil.

They met at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where a crowd of 90,185 gathered to watch (they were treated to the third-place match as a warm-up, with Brazil beating Norway on penalties). It remains the largest audience ever for a women's-only sporting event.

The teams battled to a scoreless draw through extra-time to send to match to a penalty shootout. There, each team made their first two kicks before US goalkeeper Brianna Scurry stopped China's third shot, taken by Liu Ying, who had come on as a substitute for the shootout.

After two more kicks each, the score was level at 4-4 with the US's fifth shooter, back Brandi Chastain (pictured), still to come. She drove the ball high to the keeper's left and into the net for the victory, then stripped off and her shirt and dropped to her knees in her black sports bra in what became the iconic image of the tournament.

The two teams met again in the 2000 Summer Olympics group stage, playing to another draw (1-1).

10 July 1999 - The US Women Take Two

On 10 July 1999, the United States women won their second World Cup, beating China on penalties and setting an attendance record in the process.

The two teams had grown familiar with one another, meeting three times over the previous five years in the World Cup and the Olympics. The first two of those ended as group-stage draws (3-3 in the 1995 World Cup and 0-0 in the 1996 Summer Olympics). The third was the Olympic Final, which the US won 2-1.

In the 1999 World Cup, they were two of only three teams to emerge from the group stage with wins in all of their matches (Norway was the other). China then beat Norway and Russia to reach the Final, while the US advanced with wins over Germany and Brazil.

They met at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where a crowd of 90,185 gathered to watch (they were treated to the third-place match as a warm-up, with Brazil beating Norway on penalties). It remains the largest audience ever for a women's-only sporting event.

The teams battled to a scoreless draw through extra-time to send to match to a penalty shootout. There, each team made their first two kicks before US goalkeeper Brianna Scurry stopped China's third shot, taken by Liu Ying, who had come on as a substitute for the shootout.

After two more kicks each, the score was level at 4-4 with the US's fifth shooter, back Brandi Chastain (pictured), still to come. She drove the ball high to the keeper's left and into the net for the victory, then stripped off and her shirt and dropped to her knees in her black sports bra in what became the iconic image of the tournament.

The two teams met again in the 2000 Summer Olympics group stage, playing to another draw (1-1).

1 June 1998 - He's Had A Slightly Bigger Impact On Football In The US Than Beckham Did

On 1 June 1998, the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame awarded its first ever Medal of Honor to then-United States Soccer Federation President and Major League Soccer founder Alan Rothenberg.

Born in 1939, Rothenberg's first experience with football came when he was a 28-year-old lawyer working for U.S. sports magnate Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Washington Redskins, the Los Angeles Kings, and the North American Soccer League's Los Angeles Wolves. Rothenberg himself was a part owner of the NASL's Los Angeles Aztecs from 1977 to 1980, a period that saw George Best and Johan Cruyff play for the club.

In 1984, Olympic organizer Peter Ueberroth placed Rothenberg in charge of football for the 1984 summer games, held in Los Angeles. Rothenberg's success in that role drew the attention of FIFA, who appointed him director of the 1994 World Cup, also held in the United States. FIFA also supported Rothenberg's campaign for the presidency of the United States Soccer Federation, a position he held from 1990 until 1998, when he became a vice president of CONCACAF.

As part of the USA's bid for the 1994 World Cup, the USSF agreed to establish a new domestic league. Rothenberg oversaw the effort that led to the establishment of Major League Soccer in 1993, though the first season was not played until 1996. He also served as MLS's first chairman.

Rothenberg has been very active with FIFA, serving as chairman of the 1999 Women's World Cup as well as being a member of the organizing committee for the 2006 World Cup and FIFA's Executive Committee. FIFA awarded Rothenberg with its highest honor, the Order of Merit, in 2006.

For his service to football, Rothenberg was inducted into the United States National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007. He remains a member of the USSF Executive Committee.