USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski ‘will resign in the next few days’ after the reigning champions’ shock World Cup exit in the Round of 16
- The USA was knocked out of the World Cup by Sweden on penalties in the last 16
- Following the shock exit, US Soccer announced that it would conduct a review
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USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski is set to resign from his position in the coming days, according to a report.
The move comes after the USA was shockingly knocked out of the World Cup in the Round of 16 by Sweden, seeing the heavy favorites’ quest for a three-peat come to a surprising end.
Andonovski, who faced criticism throughout the tournament Down Under, signed a four-deal with US Soccer in 2019 but 90Min.com reports that he could hand in his resignation before his contract ends.
The USA headed to the World Cup as reigning champions and heavy favorites to win a historic third consecutive trophy.
However, the Stars and Stripes struggled, just sneaking out of the group stage after a 0-0 tie with Portugal.
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski is reportedly set to resign from his position
The reported move comes after the USA was shockingly knocked out of the World Cup
The USWNT then made a shock exit at the hands of Sweden, losing 5-4 on penalties, which included hero and veteran Megan Rapinoe missing her spotkick.
Andonovski faced backlash for his tactical decisions after he failed to make substitutions and to use the talent on his bench.
WSL stars Ashley Sanchez and Alana Cook never made it on to the field, while others, including Kristie Mewis, Sofia Huerta and prodigy Alyssa Thompson saw limited minutes.
Following the USA’s elimination, Andonovski refused to dwell too much on his future at the helm of the team.
‘I think it’s selfish to think about me, my future, what I’m gonna do, when we have 20-year-old players going through the moment, going through this situation,’ he said.
‘I want be there for them. I love them. I love them all. And they’re my players, but they’re my friends. We spent four years together. They got their first caps with me. They got their first national team call-ups with me. We spend times, tough times, good times. So I don’t want to see them like that. That’s all I think about.’
After the USA was dumped out of the tournament, US Soccer announced it would conduct an investigation into the national team’s failure.
Questions were asked of Andonovski’s future with the team by fans, while others slammed the majority of the players’ decision not to sing the national anthem.
There has been criticism thrown at some members of the squad who decided against singing the national anthem before games
US Soccer confirmed in a statement, via The Athletic, that a review would be conducted to see where things went wrong in the tournament and what their next steps are.
They said: ‘While we are all disappointed that our journey has ended at the Women’s World Cup, we want to thank the players, coaches and staff for their remarkable efforts and to our fans both in the stands and at home for their unwavering support.
‘As we always do after a major tournament, we will conduct a review to identify areas of improvement and determine our next steps.
‘As we look ahead, we embrace the hard work necessary to become champions again.’