USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski resigns after 2023 World Cup loss

The U.S. Women’s National Team is making a head coaching change.

Vlatko Andonovski has resigned from his position after the team failed to advance past the round of 16 in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, according to multiple reports.

The team is finalizing an agreement to make Twila Kilgore the new interim head coach, The Athletic reported.

Andonovski, 46, became the USWNT coach in 2019 after two-time World Cup champion coach Jim Ellis stepped down after the 2019 title.

But Andonovski did not have the same level of success that Ellis attained, as he became the first USWNT coach to lead the team at two different major tournaments (2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2023 World Cup) without winning the ultimate prize.

After finishing with a disappointing bronze in Tokyo, this year’s USWNT dropped a heartbreaking game in penalty kicks to Sweden, failing to advance past the round of 16 for the first time in team history.

The team won just one game and netted four total goals — the fewest the USWNT has ever scored in a World Cup.

“I think we came out today and showed what we’re all about,” Andonovski said on Fox after his team’s elimination. “Showed the grit, the resilience, the fight, the bravery — they showed everything that we could to win this game.

“Unfortunately, soccer can be cruel sometimes.”

But the team’s work ethic and attitude were called into question by former U.S. star Carli Lloyd.

Before the team’s loss to Sweden, Lloyd slammed the team for not playing with enough heart and showing too much arrogance.

After the defeat, she doubled down on her scathing critiques.

“I think there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and I just saw this team go in a direction where the values that were built and instilled in this team is not what was displayed out at this World Cup,” she told The Athletic.

“I did speak the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts. But it came from my heart. The world has caught up. I get that. But there’s no reason why we still can’t be at the top.”

Despite multiple disappointments with the U.S., Andonovski is drawing interest from international and club teams, The Athletic reported.

He finishes his tenure with the USWNT with a 51-5-9 record.