Vlatko Andonovski’s time in charge of the U.S. women’s national team is reportedly over.
Barely over a week after the USWNT were eliminated from the World Cup by Sweden on penalty kicks, Andonovski is said to have stepped down as the team’s head coach.
90min was first to report the news. The Athletic confirmed Andonovski’s departure as well, adding that there are clubs and national teams interested in the 46-year-old’s services.
Per The Athletic, U.S. Soccer is in the process of appointing assistant coach Twila Kilgore as the team’s interim manager. The USWNT’s next scheduled matches are a pair of September friendlies against South Africa. The U.S. will host both games, which are set for September 21 in Cincinnati, and three days later in Chicago.
The federation will likely have to pursue an aggressive timeline in appointing Andonovski’s successor, with the Olympics less than one year away.
New direction for USWNT
Andonovski’s departure comes as no major surprise. The USWNT’s round of 16 exit marked a worst-ever performance at a World Cup for the program, and could hardly be attributed to bad luck. The team struggled for a significant portion of a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, and was inches from elimination during the insipid 0-0 draw with Portugal that concluded their group stage schedule.
The USWNT concluded the tournament without a goal in its final two games, and only scored three times from open play in five matches. Andonovski also drew the ire of fans for suddenly pivoting away from Alana Cook and Ashley Sanchez (both of whom did not appear in any matches at the World Cup) and for returning to an oddly-structured 4-3-3 system that had been justifiably discarded in 2022.
That said, Andonovski grappled with some problems out of his control. The Covid-19 pandemic came just as the team should have been undergoing a transition between generations. Long-term absences through injury or pregnancy saw him go long spells without stars like Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, Sam Mewis, Christen Press, and Tobin Heath. Andonovski’s World Cup plans were further hampered by injuries to key attacking starters Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson.
Still, with a deep player pool, the results and caliber of performance on his watch would have been reason enough to expect a change of management. Once a very similar disappointment at the Olympics in 2021 was factored in, U.S. Soccer would surely have moved on from Andonovski if he had not stepped down.
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