Vlatko Andonovski, head coach of the US Womens Soccer Team, has resigned following the team’s unexpected elimination from the World Cup on Aug. 6, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
His four-year contract was due to expire at the end of the calendar year, U.S. Soccer confirmed to Yahoo Sports, but his decisions during the game against Sweden likely hastened his exit.
This year’s elimination was the earliest for the U.S. womens team in history. Andronovski was widely criticized for not giving key players enough time on the field, including Kristie Mewis, Alyssa Thompson and Sofia Huerta.
After the match, Andronovski deflected questions about his own future with the team. “I think it’s selfish to think about me, my future, what I’m gonna do, when we have 20-year-old players going through the moment, going through this situation,” he said.
He added that he loves everyone the team. “… They’re my players, but they’re my friends. We spent four years together. They got their first caps with me. They got their first national team call-ups with me. We spend times, tough times, good times.”
Vlatko previously managed the Missouri Comets, FC Kansas City and Seattle’s Reign FC.
During his own soccer career, as a central defender, Andonovski played for multiple clubs in Europe, including FK Rabotnički, Makedonija GP and FK Vardar. He competed in the First Macedonian Football League, European Cup and Intertoto Cup.
After relocating to the U.S., he signed with the Wichita Wings and later played for the Kansas City Comets, California Cougars and Philadelphia Kixx.
TheWrap has reached out to USWNT for comment.
This year’s World Cup was also the last for star player Megan Rapinoe, who announced her retirement a month before the tournament.
“It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game,” Rapinoe wrote on Twitter. “I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change my life forever, but by the look on this little girl’s face, she knew all along.”
