After the U.S. women’s national team suffered their earliest exit ever from the World Cup, Vlatko Andonovski is out as the team’s head coach, according to Nancy Armour at USA Today.
Andonovski was hired in late 2019 to succeed Jill Ellis, who had guided the USWNT to back-to-back World Cup championships in 2015 and 2019. Under Andonovski – who previously had only coached at the club level before taking over the top job in U.S. women’s soccer – the Americans finished third at the 2021 Olympics and were eliminated in the Round of 16 at the 2023 World Cup, falling in a grueling penalty shootout against Sweden. In the previous eight World Cups, the U.S. had never finished short of the semifinals.
The USWNT looked beatable at the end of the group stage, as they finished it with one win, two draws and just four goals scored. The Americans were publicly criticized – often unfairly – for their shortcomings.
It seems that Andonovski – who had a record of 51-5-9 as USWNT coach – is taking the blame. And now that he’s out, speculation begins as to who the next USWNT coach will be going forward as the 2024 Olympics approach.
Here’s a few names that could be considered.