WASHINGTON: U.S. women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski has resigned, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
The move comes less than two weeks after the Americans were knocked out of the Women’s World Cup earlier than ever before.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move had not been officially announced.
The four-time champion struggled through the World Cup. A victory over Vietnam to kick off the group stage was followed by draws against Netherlands and Portugal — barely enough to get the team into the knockout stage.
The Americans played well in the round of 16 against Sweden but ultimately fell on penalties after a scoreless tie. The U.S. scored just four goals over the course of the tournament.
The United States had never finished worse than third at previous World Cups.
The 46-year-old Andonovski was named coach of the United States in October 2019, taking over for Jill Ellis, who led the United States to back-to-back World Cup titles.
He finished 51-5-9 during his time with the team, and was 3-2-5 in major tournaments.
Following the match against Sweden, Andonovski said he wasn’t thinking about his future with the team — only his young players. Fourteen players on the roster were appearing in their first World Cup, and 12 of them had never played in a major tournament.
“We spent four years together. They got their first caps with me, they got their first national team call-ups with me,” Andonovski said. “We spent tough times, good times. I don’t want to see them like that. That’s all I think about.”
The United States also finished with a disappointing bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Afterward, Andonovski turned his attention on developing young players ahead of the World Cup.
Some of the players who emerged were Sophia Smith, last year’s U.S. Soccer player of the year, and Trinity Rodman.
(VOA/AP)
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