USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski resigns, per multiple reports

Vlatko Andonovski has resigned as coach of the United States women’s soccer team following the squad’s shocking elimination from the 2023 World Cup, according to multiple reports Wednesday.

A formal announcement from U.S. Soccer is expected Thursday. The news was first reported by 90 Minutes and confirmed by both The Athletic and ESPN.

The USWNT lost to Sweden in the round of 16, marking the first time the Americans failed to reach at least the semifinals of the World Cup.

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The U.S. entered the World Cup as the prohibitive favorites and two-time defending champions. The Americans were striving for an unprecedented third consecutive title — a feat no women’s or men’s team has ever accomplished.

Instead, after a dispiriting group stage during which they failed to win at least two games for the first time, they were dumped out of the competition in the round of 16 by Sweden, which won the match in a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw. The four-time World Cup champions had never finished worse than third overall at the previous eight editions of the competition.

Scoring was a problem for the U.S. throughout Andonovski’s entire four-year tenure. The 46-year-old was hired to replace Jill Ellis in 2019 with a mandate to refresh the program, move on from some of the older mainstays from the successful 2015 and ’19 squads and institute a more modern playing style.

That plan was slowed by the global COVID-19 pandemic and by injures to key players — the U.S. was missing as many as five projected starters during the World Cup, including 2023 leading scorer Mallory Swanson. But the team also never really found its attacking groove at any point under Andonovski, whose reputation soared after he led the NWSL’s OL Reign to consecutive league titles in the mid 2010s.

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The U.S. was upset by Canada at the Olympics semifinals two years ago, but rebounded in the third place game to claim a bronze medal.

But the Americans managed to score just four goals in four games at the 2023 World Cup — three of them in their opening match over badly overmatched Vietnam. They were shut out in their last two games Down Under. By contrast, the USWNT found the net 26 times in seven games en route to winning the 2019 World Cup in France.

While Andonovski leaves the job without having won either of the two major tournaments for the USWNT, he did give first caps to several young players who will be mainstays of the team for years to come. Among those are defenders Naomi Girma and Emily Fox, as well as forward Sophia Smith, all of them starters in every game at the 2023 World Cup, plus winger Trinity Rodman, who was in the coach’s lineup for three of the Americans’ four matches.

Vlatko Andonovski’s postgame news conference after USWNT’s elimination

Andonovski, whose contract was set to expire later this year, was on the sideline for 65 games in all with the USWNT. He finishes with a record of 51W-5L-9T.

USSF Sporting Director Matt Crocker will now embark on a wide-ranging search for Andonovski’s replacement, a process that will take several months.

The U.S. is expected to be led by an interim manager, with The Athletic reporting U.S. assistant Twila Kilgore would fill the role. The team will play two September friendlies against South Africa.

U.S. Soccer can’t afford to wait too long, however, with the start of the 2024 Olympics in Paris less than a year away.

FOX Sports soccer reporter Doug McIntyre contributed to this report.

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