Why keeping Andonovski as USWNT coach deserves scrutiny

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The U.S. Soccer Federation has not made any announcements yet, but it seems clear Vlatko Andonovski will not continue on as the head coach of the U.S. women’s national team. Whether it’s phrased that he will “part ways” or “step down,” his tenure with the USWNT, which began in October 2019, will be over soon.

The problem: It’s happening about two years too late.

There are a lot of reasons the USWNT crashed out of the Women’s World Cup in the round of 16 against Sweden. The team’s best players were injured. The team was caught between two generations. The rest of the world has caught up.

Those things are all true. But Andonovski was also not the right choice for a job that is arguably the most challenging in women’s soccer, and the warning signs of how this World Cup would go were evident after the 2021 Olympics. Had U.S. Soccer officials heeded those signs, the USWNT might very well still be in this World Cup, preparing for a quarterfinal.

Now, Andonovski ends his USWNT tenure having won just three of 10 games in major competitions — two during the 2021 Olympics, and one in the 2023 World Cup. In those 10 games, the U.S. failed to score a goal in half of them.

Problems from Olympics carry into Women’s World Cup

Back in 2021, the cracks revealed themselves immediately. In the opening match of the Olympics, Sweden humiliated the USWNT 3-0. The Americans looked lost, disjointed and confused — it was a remarkable about-face…