Sport / Fifa Women's World Cup 2023

US coach quits after poor World Cup showing

11:53 am on 17 August 2023

Vlatko Andonovski of USA during the Fifa Womens World Cup match at Eden Park, Photo: Photosport

Vlatko Andonovski has resigned as head coach of the United States women's football team following the four-times champions' early exit from the World Cup.

The Americans were on the hunt for an unprecedented third consecutive title but crashed out in the round of 16 against Sweden last Friday, marking their worst performance in the quadrennial tournament.

U.S. Soccer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The team have a pair of friendlies against South Africa set for 21 and 24 Sept.

An interim coach was expected to take the reins for those matches, ESPN said.

Reports say the interim coach is likely to be assistant coach Twila Kilgore.

Andonovski faced sky-high expectations when he took over nearly four years ago, after previous coach Jill Ellis guided the team to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019.

He led the United States to bronze at the Tokyo Olympics but there were early signs of trouble at the competition in Australia and New Zealand as the team failed to hit their stride after a slew of pre-tournament injuries.

Andonovski's contract was set to expire at the end of this calendar year.

He finishes with a 51-5-9 record. He was just 3-2-5 in major tournaments.

-Reuters