Vlatko Andonovski slammed after USA exit as pundits rip into former women’s coach for ‘inexplicable’ failures which have left team ‘several years behind’

Vlatko Andonovski is accused of leaving the US women’s national team “several years behind” where it should be after his resignation as coach.

The 46-year-old stepped down as USWNT boss on Wednesday after a disappointing World Cup campaign that saw his team go down on penalties against Sweden in the last 16 leg.

There were widespread reports that he canceled time for his stint in charge before The Associated Press confirmed it later that night.

While his departure has yet to be officially confirmed, US Soccer is expected to do so on Thursday.

Andonovski led the USWNT for four years after replacing two-time World Cup winning boss Jill Ellis in 2019.

Andonovski has resigned in the wake of his team’s poor World Cup campaign which saw them dumped by Sweden on penalties in the last 16 stage

But he failed to live up to his predecessor, despite leading the team to the CONCACAF Women’s Championship last year, with a disappointing Olympic campaign beforehand that presaged what turned out to be a miserable World Cup.

And in the wake of his departure, Andonovski has drawn criticism from pundits CBS Sports Golazo.

Analyst Christine Cupo said of the Macedonian-American’s time in charge, “Not even close (until good enough). I think we saw early indications of that with the Olympics. I think that was probably the harbinger of doom, otherwise not much had changed.

“We’ve had a lot of his changes and experiments that were probably necessary at the time, but I think we’re now several years (behind) where we should be,

“(He) kind of took all that progress we made as an edge and dominance as an American side and squandered it in ways that are unimaginable, where we have players who are not optimal for their positions or see players who get few minutes that even in this last tournament… rather inexplicable.

“There’s just too much talent for us to do this badly.”

Co-expert Jenny Chiu also believes that the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics should have been a wake-up call for the women’s national team.

“I think after the Olympics it should have been a huge wake-up call and something should have changed there and I don’t think it did,” she said.

CBS sports analyst Christine Cupo accuses the outgoing coach of “unexplained” failures

Co-pundits Jenny Chiu (left) and Charlie Davies were also critical of Andonovski’s tenure

The Macedonian-American boss spent four years in charge of the USA women’s team

“I think it was very clear that the style of play wasn’t as dominant or cohesive as we would like it to be. We have these big players as individuals who have carried the team and we have relied on them so much. We have the talent in that area.

“But to be a World Cup winning team and world champion, you can’t rely on those factors now because everyone in the world is catching up, as we say.

‘There was no cohesion. Yes, we have the players, but how do you get them to work? Making sure it’s a unit from the start, as opposed to people fighting for spots at the very last minute. It’s part of it.’

Former US men’s international Charlie Davies also joined in by claiming that the women’s squad under Andonovski lacked a “game philosophy.”

“In the time we’ve had with Vlatko Andonovski,” he said, “you didn’t see any movement from Jill Ellis in terms of philosophy.

‘There is no playing philosophy, there is no style. And if you are going to play matches, is there a game plan? A tactical game plan?’