Vlatko Andonovski RESIGNS as USA coach after humiliating World Cup, crashing out in the last-16 with team dividing fans over refusal to sing the national anthem

USA women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski has resigned after overseeing the team’s worst-ever World Cup.

There were widespread reports earlier on Wednesday that his resignation was imminent before The Associated Press confirmed the news Wednesday night. US Soccer is likely to confirm his departure on Thursday.

It comes after the US crashed out of the World Cup in the last 16 leg, losing to Sweden on penalties.

The team arrived in Australia and New Zealand ahead of the tournament in pursuit of the ‘three-peat’ – the first team in men’s or women’s football to win three World Cups in a row.

But they didn’t come close – opening the tournament with a disappointing 3-0 win over Vietnam before needing two draws against Portugal and the Netherlands to secure a spot in the knockouts – just.

They even split some of the fan base at home when several players repeatedly failed to sing the national anthem before matches. It’s nothing new for the team, but given the size of the platform during the World Cup, it caused more dismay among supporters than usual.

The Americans played well in the Round of 16 against Sweden, but eventually fell on penalties after a scoreless draw. The USA only scored four goals during the tournament.

The United States had never finished as badly as third in the World Cup.

According to ESPN, Andonovski has a range of offers to quickly return to football at both club and international levels. One is apparently from Kansas City Current in the NWSL

The 46-year-old Andonovski was named United States coach in October 2019, taking over from Jill Ellis, who led the United States to consecutive World Cup titles.

He finished 51-5-9 during his time with the team and was 3-2-5 in major tournaments.

It wasn’t just the World Cup that hurt Andonovski’s chances of keeping his job. The United States also finished with a disappointing bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

After the Olympics, Andonovski turned his attention to developing young players ahead of the World Cup. Some of the players who came forward were Sophia Smith, last year’s US Soccer Player of the Year, and Trinity Rodman.

The United States was bitten by injuries leading up to the tournament and lost a few key players. Mallory Swanson injured her knee in an April friendly and captain Becky Sauerbrunn was unable to recover from a foot injury in time.

Promising young striker Catarina Macario tore her ACL last year playing for her club side Lyon and was also not ready to play in the World Cup.