USWNT coach uses filter to block out harsh Women's World Cup criticism
United States women's national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski is blissfully unaware of the harsh public criticism surrounding his Women's World Cup tactics. In fact, the 46-year-old said the USWNT's press officer filters all information before giving him memos clear of any hate.
"[The press officer] has been very good to me in selecting the things that I need to know and selecting things that I don't need to know," said Andonovski, who does not go on social media. "Because I'm pretty sure that if I knew everything outside of our bubble, I wouldn't be smiling right now. That's how I deal with pressure."
Andonovski is under scrutiny for only making one substitution in a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands last week. The result sets up a nervy third Group E match for the back-to-back Women's World Cup champions. An upset loss would eliminate them from the competition and almost certainly mark the end of the head coach's tenure.
"The moment I sat in this chair in 2019 is when the pressure started," Andonovski told reporters. "It's not like this is something new or something that I wasn't aware of. I knew this is how it's going to be, and I know what the expectations are. The only thing that changed from 2019 to now is actually I just learned how to turn the pressure into excitement."
Andonovski added: "We feel so prepared. That in some ways helps us with dealing with pressure. I mean, we were prepared coming into the World Cup. We're prepared going into every game and for different scenarios, different moments. That's all we can do."
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The USWNT fell behind the Netherlands when Jill Roord rolled a low shot past goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. It was the first time the Stars and Stripes' trailed in a Women's World Cup match in 12 years. They battled back to level the score through Lindsey Horan. Still, the overall performance failed to convince critics of their quality after they sputtered two years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing in third place.
After the draw, Andonovski defended only making one substitution by claiming he hadn't wanted to disrupt the USWNT's rhythm. Megan Rapinoe was one of the forwards left on the bench, and she suggested a late switch or two could have changed the result, though she stopped short of blaming her coach.
Megan Rapinoe was an unused substitute in the USWNT's Group E match against the Netherlands. (Getty Images)"I think I could have helped," Rapinoe said. "But I think Lynn [Williams] could have helped, and I think Trinity [Rodman] was helping, and I think [Sophia Smith] was helping, and we had chances. It was right there for us. I don't think that it was like all the players on the field didn't do their job. I think that they were giving everything and still creating chances up till the very end and just wasn't able to get that last goal.
"[Andonovski] knows every single sub wants to go in the game. He explained to [the media] that he felt like we had the momentum. Ultimately, that's his decision. I feel like the players that were off the field felt like players on field were going to score."
Former USWNT defender Ali Krieger went further, saying Andonovski's explanation didn't pass the smell test. Assuming the coach's press officer properly filtered content, though, it's unlikely he received Krieger's message.
"I do think there was a missed opportunity when the Dutch were tiring down," Krieger told ESPN+. "Especially in the last few opportunities we had at the end of the game, we could've made some changes to try to win the game. So, I don't know what the 'rhythm' was all about, because I do think adding those substitutes could've actually created more rhythm than I saw."
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