On the heels of the USWNT’s shocking elimination by Sweden in the Round of 16, manager Vlatko Andonovski has resigned, sources told 90min Wednesday.
Andonvski took over for Jill Ellis in October 2019, led the USWNT to a third-place finish in the 2021 Summer Olympics, and won the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Championship.
However, much of the blame for the lack of success in the 2023 Women’s World Cup was placed on Andonovski’s lack of substations or other adjustments. As a result, the Round of 16 elimination was the worst showing by a USWNT team in Women’s World Cup history, as they had never finished lower than third place in the tournament before this year.
Andonovski isn’t expected to be out of work for long, as he is a finalist for the NWSL’s Kansas City Current’s head coaching job. Andonovski coached the NWSL’s FC Kansas City for the club’s entire five-year existence (2012-17) before taking the same position with Reign FC, who he led to the 2019 semi-finals and won the 2019 NWSL Coach of the Year Award before resigning to focus on his USWNT duties.
An official announcement on Andonovski’s resignation is expected on Thursday.
The United States Soccer Federation will likely look to act quickly in finding Andonovski’s replacement, as the 2024 Summer Olympics are set to begin in just 11 months.
