The Inevitable Happened: USWNT & Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski "Mutally Agreed To Part Ways"

 

    I had been meaning to write a quick post about this for the last few days after reports surfaced on Wednesday night that USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski had resigned. The most predictable coaching change in soccer history was confirmed yesterday by the US Soccer Federation as they named his assistant Twila Kilgore (who?) as the interim head coach. The timing of this probably does not matter one bit in the long run but the minute after the USWNT was eliminated by Sweden in penalty kicks at the 2023 Women's World Cup was almost two weeks ago now. Are we supposed to be stupid enough to believe that Vlatko actually had a chance to keep his job after the earliest World Cup exit (Round of 16) in USWNT history? Please, oh and his other major tournament was also terrible as the U.S. settled for a bronze medal in the 2021 Covid Olympics. He got fired, why is that so hard to say in public?

    The USWNT was coming off of back-to-back World Cup titles so anything less than a spot in the final would have been unacceptable. We could see signs of turbulence ahead when the Americans lost a couple friendlies leading up to the World Cup (something which never occurs) and generally showed many more signs of vulnerability than usual. Yes, the gap between the USWNT and the rest of the world is rapidly closing but it would be silly to pin all of this on poor Vlatko who was woefully overmatched from the start. Last time that I checked, we still have tons of great women's players who should have been good enough to work past poor coaching and the litany of injuries to quality players that they suffered in the lead up to the World Cup. 

    Given that I had never heard of Kilgore (who is thankfully an American) until yesterday and the fact that she worked under Vlatko is not a promising sign for her long-term future with the USWNT. Nope, they need to clean house ASAP and start over. I always say this when it comes to the USMNT and USWNT head coaches but let me once again repeat my core belief: the USMNT should always be led by a foreigner since we have never come close to a World Cup title and the USWNT should be coached by an American since we are the best country in women's soccer history. I will not pretend to have a list of hot coaching candidates in women's soccer ready to go in my head but with our storied history, there has to be a few worthy replacements that are currently working their way up the ranks. 

    I would also say that I prefer an American woman (like Jill Ellis) in charge of the USWNT. We were on top for so long that former American players figure to be uniquely qualified to handle the pressure not to mention they would be familiar with our youth program, the NWSL, the USWNT system etc. Following any World Cup (men's or women's), there are always players that will retire or not be good enough to make the next competition so you always need young players knocking at the door. It has understandably been all doom and gloom since the USWNT's rough World Cup in Australia/New Zealand but the cupboard is not empty by any means. With forwards like Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, a midfielder and captain Lindsey Horan plus defenders such as Naomi Girma and Emily Fox to name a few, we will be fine moving forward. However, make no mistake, the US Soccer Federation still has a big decision on its hands: I would have thought that the job of USWNT was almost idiot proof but not so much as Vlatko showed us all. Hire the right person and let's please move on to another great chapter for the U.S. soccer women's national team.

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USMNT No. 1 Goalkeeper Matt Turner Leaves Arsenal (After 1 Season) For Nottingham Forest

 

    If you saw the headline that USMNT starting goalkeeper Matt Turner was bolting from Arsenal after one forgettable season and going to Nottingham Forest, let me do my best to quickly talk you off the proverbial ledge. It is simple really, while the Gunners finished second in the English Premier League last season-46 points ahead of Forest who were just two places above the relegation zone in 16th place-Turner only appeared in seven total matches, none of which were in the Premier League. At the age of 29, he is in the prime of his soccer career and as a pro athlete, he does not have the luxury to wait a few years in North London, hoping to grab the No. 1 spot for Arsenal at some point. The move that had been rumored for weeks was made official today, as he signed a four-year deal worth a reported $12.75 million with Nottingham Forest.

    With the USMNT, Turner is in a good position in terms of job security. He really does not have anyone that is coming for his place anytime soon. Still, to reach his pinnacle as well as the USMNT's, they need him playing as much as possible. The fact that Nottingham Forest will be underdogs in most of their Premier League matches is a good thing in this case since it means that Turner will get plenty of action in every game as they try to avoid relegation in 2023-24. While it is far sexier to say "wow, our goalie is at Arsenal (or one of the other powerhouse clubs in Europe)!" rather than at lowly Nottingham Forest, this temporary move should benefit him and the U.S. men's national team both in the short and long term. In an amazing twist of scheduling fate, Turner and his new club open their regular season on Saturday morning (7:30 am, USA Network) as they visit Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Haha what are the odds of that? Hopefully he is ready for suit up in that one because that would be a pretty cool footnote to his stint in the Premier League.

    Keep in mind that if he plays well with Forest, he is unlikely to be there for the entirety of his contract. God bless European soccer since as soon as a guy blows up at a smaller club, he is usually snatched up by a bigger and more powerful team with the quickness. So who knows, Turner could end up back at Arsenal or one of the other title contenders in no time. No matter what sport you play in, you can only get so much out of practices and non-game situations. It would be one thing if Turner was a teenager and while goalkeepers typically have longer professional careers than field players, there is no guarantee of anything when you compete in the top soccer league in the world. 

    If you know anything about Turner and his Disney movie like backstory, you will never doubt his ability to exceed expectations in short order. This is the same guy who thought he would be a baseball player when he was growing up and never played competitive soccer until high school. He played at a very low level Division 1 college-Fairfield University in Connecticut-and then nobody knew him before he burst onto the MLS and USMNT scene with the New England Revolution. The USMNT has always been known for quality goalies and Turner is the latest in a long line of quality shot-stoppers. The difference now is that there is way more talent around him than ever before so ideally, he won't always have to stand on his head when the U.S. plays top competition from around the globe. 

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USWNT Crashes Out Of World Cup With Their Earliest Exit Ever, Losing 5-4 To Sweden In PKs

 

    The brutal nature of soccer was on full display in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup today in Melbourne, Australia as the U.S. women lost 5-4 in penalty kicks-the longest shootout in Women's World Cup history-to Sweden in the Round of 16. There will be no threepeat, not even close as the Americans got eliminated earlier than ever before (they had only lost in semifinals or finals at previous World Cups). Ironically, it was by far the best performance of the USWNT in this tournament but their continued lack of goal-scoring ultimately got them all a plane ticket home far sooner than any of them could have expected going into this. Sweden will meet Japan on Friday in the quarterfinals (3 am, FOX). 

    In four matches at the 2023 World Cup, the USWNT only scored four total goals and even that is misleading since three of them came in their opener vs. overmatched Vietnam. Since then, they got one vs. Netherlands in a 1-1 draw, none vs. Portugal in a 0-0 tie and now this rough exit to a quality team that truthfully played far from their best game today but improved to 2-4-1 all-time vs. their rivals from America in the World Cup. Without their suspended midfielder (two yellow cards) Rose Lavelle, the U.S. was much more confident from the start and held 58% possession of the ball for the entire match. They also peppered Sweden with far more shots (22-9) including 10 more on net (11-1). The Americans had three times as many corner kicks as the Swedes (9-3) which furthers the point that they should have scored at least one goal if not two or three. 

    Sweden's goalkeeper Zecira Musovic had the game of her life. She was brilliant, making some incredible stops on U.S. midfielder Lindsey Horan (who also saw her header hit the crossbar) along with forwards Alex Morgan and Lynn Williams. The more time that went by with no goals coming for the USWNT, you had the feeling that something like this would happen to them. A game of this magnitude getting decided by penalty kicks is always a cruel way to end things but they also had 120+ minutes to score a single goal and they could not do it. 

    Even in penalty kicks, the U.S. had multiple chances to end it as they led 3-2 (after goals by midfielders Andi Sullivan, Horan and BC's Kristie Mewis in her World Cup debut!) but missed their last two attempts (by forward Megan Rapinoe in her final USWNT match and forward Sophia Smith). Sweden closed strong by converting on their last three penalty kicks while Naeher made the sixth kick for the U.S. but defender Kelley O'Hara (who came in the final minute of extra time) hit the post in her likely World Cup finale. The winning Swedish kick was a bizarre one by Lina Hurtig as Naeher initially saved it but the ball went over the line by mere millimeters before Alyssa knocked away the rebound. Nobody knew what happened until the ref said that the game was over. 

    This is a terrible result, no doubt about that but all we can hope as USWNT fans as that the federation not to mention the players and (new) coaches can learn and grow from it. True, the rest of the universe is catching up to the mighty Americans while our team has gotten static under Vlatko Andonovski who somehow was in charge for another awful finish (fourth at the last Olympics). He should be gone tomorrow along with all of his useless assistant coaches but the USWNT has more than enough talent to overcome him or any other bad coaching. Our youth programs need to be built up again and hopefully, this is a great motivator to the best young players that will form the foundation of future USWNT rosters. It is a rough day for the USWNT but if you have been paying attention the last few years and especially during this World Cup, it is not a complete shock. Their margin for error was so much smaller than in years past and they did not deserve to win another World Cup title, that is the harsh reality. 

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The USWNT Was Inches Away From Disaster, Survive 0-0 Vs. Portugal To Advance To Rd. Of 16

 

    The USWNT (1-2-0) is incredibly lucky to still be alive in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and not taking that long flight home as they staggered to a 0-0 tie with Portugal (1-1-1) this evening in their Group E finale at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Thanks to the Netherlands' 7-0 demolition of Vietnam, the Dutch deservedly find themselves in first place in Group E while the U.S. finished second. It was the first time that the Americans were shut out in a World Cup group match since 2015 (a 0-0 tie with Sweden). Ironically, it is not official yet but they will likely face their Swedish rivals in the round of 16 on Sunday morning (4 am, Fox).

    Where to begin with this latest performance that simply was not good enough for a team that is trying to make history by winning a third straight World Cup? USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski made two changes to his starting 11 with Lynn Williams in for Trinity Rodman at right forward and Rose Lavelle in for Savannah DeMelo at right midfield. After a decent start to the game, the U.S. had another mostly lifeless first half-just like in their previous outing vs. Netherlands (a 1-1 draw). Lavelle also picked up a yellow card in the 39th minute which was on a questionable call but even more troublesome was the fact that she will now miss the next match since she earned a yellow card against Netherlands as well. 

    For a team playing in its first ever Women's World Cup, Portugal truthfully deserved a better fate since they had easily the best scoring chance of the match. Substitute forward Ana Capeta came on in the 90th minute and in the next minute, she was sprung loose with enough space to rocket a low shot off the post. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher did not register a save vs. the Portuguese and earlier she had fumbled a cross but ultimately smothered it. In the dying moments, she completely whiffed on a punch attempt but the Americans were able to withstand that nervy sequence too. 

    The USWNT finished with a pedestrian (by their lofty standards) four goals scored and one goal allowed in the three Group E matches. Scoring is a real issue since they have only found the back of the net once following the routine 3-0 opening victory vs. first timers from Vietnam. Forward Alex Morgan has yet to score a goal in Australia/New Zealand and after the match, the first voice that we saw talking to the entire team on the field was not Andonovski, another coach or the captains-Lindsey Horan and Morgan-but rather veteran defender Kelley O'Hara. Vlatko seriously looked on the verge of tears at the final whistle which should not be surprising at all because he was that close to losing the best job that he will ever get in his entire career. 

    The U.S. obviously lacks the explosive offense that we have been used to in the past. Forward Sophia Smith-who scored two goals and added an assist in her World Cup debut vs. Vietnam-has been MIA in the last two matches. She was subbed out for Megan Rapinoe early in the second half and the other promising young American forward-Trinity Rodman-who started the first two matches, came on very late on this one. It will be a tough call as to who starts at forward with Morgan the next time out. Williams played well enough to make another start so the question for Andonovski is does he trust Smith or Rodman more? Regardless of who he picks, the other one should play more than a few minutes. There is no obvious replacement for Lavelle in the starting lineup at midfield and needless to say, nobody on the U.S. bench has her abundance of skill and proven track record. You want to believe that the USWNT has a much better showing in their back pocket but with the way that they have stumbled through most of their three matches at this World Cup, it is hard to believe in them with our usual unquestioned trust

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After A Sleepy First Half, Horan Scored & The USWNT Salvaged A 1-1 Draw With Netherlands

 

    The much-anticipated rematch of the 2019 Women's World Cup Final between the United States (1-1-0) and the Netherlands (1-1-0) did not exactly live up to the hype as it ended in a 1-1 tie tonight in Wellington, New Zealand during the 2023 Women's World Cup group stage. Both teams had to settle for a point as the Dutch dominated in the first half and led for much of the match on midfielder Jill Roord's goal. The Americans lacked urgency and seemed tentative in the first half but responded with a solid second half that included the tying strike by co-captain and midfielder Lindsey Horan. Their head coach Vlatko Andonovski did them no favors though as he only used one substitution for the entire match-putting in midfielder Rose Lavelle for the overmatched Savannah DeMelo to start the second half. It felt like another move or two for the U.S. could have resulted in a win but I guess we will never know about that for sure.

    It was clear that the Netherlands' gameplan was to control possession which they successfully did 56%-44%. The United States took a bunch more shots (18-5) but only had three more of them on goal (4-1). The craziest part was that the Americans earned 10 more corner kicks (11-1) than the Dutch which seems like a misprint but it is true. Roord's goal in the 17th minute came after a series of defensive miscues by the USWNT that ended with her taking a quick touch at the top of the box then depositing a low and hard shot into the corner of the net past a diving Alyssa Naeher. Even though there was surprisingly only one card all game (a yellow for Lavelle five minutes after she came on in the second half), it was a very physical battle from start to finish. 

    Horan got taken out by her club teammate at Lyon (France) midfielder Danielle van de Donk in the 59th minute. She was understandably upset about it since between getting hit on the knee not to mention a hard fall on her head, she could have suffered a couple of serious injuries. Thankfully, she let that temporary anger fuel her as she was first to a subsequent corner by Lavelle and knocked in a powerful header to tie it up 1-1 in the 62nd minute. If you had any question as to why the normally quiet Horan was named a co-captain before this tournament, here was living proof. She stepped up when her team needed her the most. 

    From there, the U.S. had all the momentum and poured on the pressure hunting for another goal. Forward Alex Morgan scored in the 67th minute after a pretty touch on a through ball by forward Trinity Rodman but it was rightfully called offside. By the end, it felt like the Dutch were hanging on for dear life but it seemed fitting that it ended 1-1. Neither side really deserved to lose but conversely, you could say that neither was owed a victory more than the other. 

    In terms of excitement, this could not set up much better for the third and final group match as the U.S. meets Portugal (1-0-1) on Tuesday (3 am, Fox) while the Netherlands takes on Vietnam (0-0-2) at the same ungodly time stateside. Playing in their first ever World Cup, the Portuguese beat fellow debutant Vietnam 2-0 this morning. The U.S. will be favored but Portugal is not a layup so they have to come out faster from the opening whistle and not wait so long for the game to come to them. Without giving you too much of an ice cream headache, I will just say that the USWNT is up two goals in goal-differential on the Netherlands so if they win and as long as the Dutch do not blow out Vietnam (a possibility), the U.S. should finish on top of Group E. Lavelle should start against Portugal and I would also like to see Megan Rapinoe (who did not appear vs. Netherlands) get some playing time. Teenage midfielder Alyssa Thompson should see the field as well in my opinion since Andi Sullivan is nothing special by any means. 

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USWNT Began Their '23 World Cup With 3-0 Win Vs. Vietnam, Thanks To Sophia Smith (2G, 1A)

 

    You might have heard: the USWNT is trying to become the first team ever (men's or women's) to win three straight World Cups, no pressure or anything. Tonight, they opened their 2023 World Cup journey with a routine 3-0 victory over Vietnam in Auckland, New Zealand. American forward Sophia Smith had an incredible World Cup debut as she scored the first two goals for the USWNT then assisted on the final strike by midfielder and co-captain Lindsey Horan. The U.S. was far from perfect as they missed a penalty kick not to mention that they owned 66% possession for the game but only had three goals to show from it. Still, nobody got hurt and eight players made their World Cup debuts for the USWNT so the bottom line is that they will move on to bigger and better things soon enough.   

    In reality, this was a mismatch of epic proportions as evidenced by the final stats: the US outshot Vietnam 28-0 but only seven of those were on goal so you can see specifically where they will have to improve starting on Wednesday (9, Fox) when they face the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2019 Women's World Cup final. American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher gets credit for one of the most fraudulent shutouts in sports history. The winner of that is basically guaranteed to win Group E since the other team in it is Portugal who is playing in their first World Cup therefore you cannot expect them to upset the U.S. or the Netherlands (most likely). Vietnam and Portugal figure to be at the bottom of the group barring some crazy results.

    Smith did not wait too long to open her World Cup account as she made it 1-0 in the 14th minute. It was a beautiful goal as Horan looped a pass to forward and fellow co-captain Alex Morgan who flicked it into the box where Smith outran her defender and unleashed a well struck low shot with her left foot. Vietnam did their best to waste time (not a bad tactic in soccer when you are that overwhelmed) in the first half and it seemed to pay off until forward Trinity Rodman (yes, she is Dennis' daughter) earned a penalty kick in the 44th minute. Morgan stepped up to take it (I think that whomever earns a penalty kick should almost always take it) but her shot was stopped by Vietnamese goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh. Luckily for the USWNT-like we saw in the 2022 men's World Cup-there was ample stoppage time. Smith scored her second goal seven minutes (!!) into stoppage time before the halftime whistle. Thanh punched the ball but it fell to Smith and while her shot was not a great one by any means, there were enough bodies to screen Thanh who had the ball go through her legs once again. 

    Teams have five substitutes to use in this World Cup and USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski made ample use of them in the second half. This morning, we were told that star midfielder Rose Lavelle and star forward Megan Rapinoe would both be on minute restrictions at least for this evening and that is exactly what happened as they both entered in the 63rd minute. Also notably, 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson-the No. 1 pick in the last NWSL Draft-made her first World Cup appearance in the 75th minute. Fittingly since they were the two best players in the match, Smith and Horan combined for the last goal. Smith took the ball away from a Vietnam defender along the end line and then she played it back to Horan who slammed it home from the top of the box. It was another awesome highlight provided by the two Colorado natives. Lavelle had a great chance to make it 4-0 a few moments later but her right-footed shot hit the crossbar and did not cross the goal line. 

    It will be interesting to see how the Netherlands fares against Portugal tomorrow morning (3:30 am ET, FS1) but as I said, expect a relatively easy Dutch victory. The U.S. will obviously get an extra day of rest ahead of their next showdown which should help them as well not that the Vietnam match was too taxing. It is doubtful that Smith will have this type of output against the Netherlands but I also believe that Morgan and Rodman should both play better as that super talented trio gets more used to each other on the field in a competitive environment. Outside of Horan, the American midfield looks like a possible weak spot (if they even have one) while the defense led by veterans Crystal Dunn and Julie Ertz should be solid. This is the biggest field ever (32 teams) for a Women's World Cup-eight more than in 2019-and there is more parity than ever but make no mistake, the USWNT is still the team to beat until that is proven otherwise.

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Moving On: USMNT Midfielder Christian Pulisic Signs A Four-Year Deal With AC Milan (Italy)

 

    I have long said that Christian Pulisic is the greatest American male soccer player that we have ever produced. The USMNT captain and midfielder is still only 24 years old even though it feels like he has been around for much longer than that. Today, his long rumored transfer from Chelsea (England) to AC Milan (Italy) was finally confirmed as he signed a four-year contract with the Serie A giants. If you think that going from one of the top clubs in the Premier League to AC Milan is a lateral move, then you have not been paying attention to Chelsea lately. They finished in 12th place (out of 20 clubs) last season and after a revolving door of managers, Pulisic was barely getting any playing time so it was time to find a new home and a fresh start. 

    Christian, his parents and whoever smartly advised them were way ahead of the curve when he was growing up in Hershey, PA as they made the fantastic decision to move him (along with his father) to Germany when he was a teenager and where he could train full-time with the Borussia Dortmund academy team rather than dominate stateside and eventually what, go to college and star in MLS? After four seasons in the Bundesliga where he scored 13 goals, he earned a four-year deal with Chelsea where he ended up scoring 20 goals. It would be silly to label him a bust there as he was part of a Champions League title club in 2021 but based on injuries and signings of other talented guys that play similar positions to him, he found himself mostly on the bench last season when it all fell apart for the Blues. 

        The other teams that showed the most interest in Pulisic this time around were reportedly Juventus (Italy), Lyon (France) and Galatasaray (Turkey). He rightly rejected a move to Lyon which would have been a backwards move for his career and needless to say, Turkey is not where its at either at this point. You won't find many more powerhouse historical soccer clubs than AC Milan who have won the Champions League seven times (the 2nd most behind Real Madrid) and an amazing 19 Serie A titles with the most recent coming in 2022. Furthermore, they lost to their chief rival Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals this past spring so they are not far very away from gaining additional sacred hardware. Not for nothing, I would also say that getting away from the rough and tumble style in England should also sneaky help the more technically sound Pulisic who is listed at 5-foot-10 but only 150 pounds. 

    Adapting to a new country, city, language, club, teammates and league no doubt will pose some serious challenges for Christian at least in the beginning but thankfully he has some friendly faces on his new team so he should not feel alone by any means. English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek-his former Chelsea teammate-also recently signed with The Rossoneri. Additionally, USMNT defender Sergino Dest (on loan from Barcelona) is still there along with another former Chelsea teammate and French striker Olivier Giroud who played a key role in his recruitment. USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter notwithstanding, the team is unquestionably making incredible strides globally like never before. There are American players in all the top soccer leagues around the world. Still, we are not and we will never be known as a true soccer factory like Brazil, England, Spain, etc. That means that our homegrown prodigies like Pulisic are so precious and therefore we want to see him succeed at the highest level, especially as he enters what should be his prime. If he gets his club career back on track, it would be hard to quantify how much that will influence future American kids from getting into soccer and sticking with it rather than choosing other sports over it.