United States head coach Vlatko Andonovski insists the recent Women’s World Cup results indicate the growth of the sport on a global stage.
After Colombia upset powerhouse Germany with a last-minute rocket by Manuela Vanegas and Australia’s unexpected 4-0 triumph to eliminate Olympic gold medalists Canada, Andonovski reiterated that ‘rankings mean nothing’ at this tournament.
“It’s very exciting because every game is a game. And all these results actually are reminders for us that the rankings mean nothing in the World Cup. Rankings mean nothing in every game,” he said emphatically.
“Another thing is I want to point out, I’ve been saying this for years, every time we played these teams that these are good teams. We watched the Germany vs Colombia game. It wasn’t because Germany didn’t play well. I actually thought that Germany tried hard and had some great moments, but Colombia played well too.
“It used to be in order for a result like that to happen, you have to wait sometimes six months or nine months and then one team really has to have a bad game and the other team has to have the game of their life where now we see an interesting result every day, or every other day. Teams competed well. And isn’t it what we all want to see? That’s what we were talking about the growth of the women’s game and the growth of the sport. This is an indication of it and I’m just happy to see it.”
And the same applies for the USWNT’s opponents. The Netherlands came in strong to expose weaknesses in the American team’s midfield to manage a 1-1 draw just four years after losing 2-1 in the 2019 World Cup final. Portugal also held the American team to a draw, dominating throughout the game to leave Andonovski’s side constantly vulnerable.
“But one other thing I want to point out in the last two years, the Portuguese team has grown so much and has gotten so much better than that, that I don’t think what we saw in 2021 is, is a clear or real picture of the team that it is today,” said Andonovski of his opponent.
As the 2023 FIFA World Cup progresses, fans can expect more underdog teams to shock favorites.
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