The USWNT’s long era of success is over, but a new one could be on the horizon

MELBOURNE, Australia — The rest of the women’s soccer world threw a dance party at the graveyard on Sunday night when the United States crashed out of the World Cup in the round of 16 for the first time.

It was hosted by the thousands of Aussies who cheered for Sweden, with table settings for their Matildas, England, France, Japan, Spain, and more. And oh, how they reveled, from the stadium stands to every social media platform imaginable.

There was just one problem, though. While a tombstone for the United States stood front and center, there was no coffin beneath it.

For they all knew deep down that the most decorated program in women’s soccer history is far from dead.

The Americans’ earliest-ever exit from a major tournament was fully deserved. Manager Vlatko Andonovski blew it repeatedly, and his players didn’t measure up in the big moments that are beyond any coach’s control. His tenure is surely over, and he made it clear after the game that he knew it.

“Now it’s time for criticism,” he said in what was almost certainly his last postgame news conference on the job. “Now you can say whatever you want.”

» READ MORE: U.S. women’s national team shocked in penalty shootout elimination from World Cup

Andonovski’s boss, U.S. women’s team general manager Kate Markgraf, might have to go too. That will be a big call, but new U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker could be invited to make it.

Crocker was hired because his background includes a lot of work in women’s soccer, not just men’s soccer. He helped build the England youth teams that produced the reigning European champions, with unprecedented talents in players like Keira Walsh, Lauren James, and Alessia Russo.

Now he has an opening to clean house if he wants to and reshape the U.S. program into one that focuses much more on young players than it traditionally has. That’s how all good national teams do their business, even ones that carry the world’s biggest-name stars.

Crocker knows that the U.S. youth pipeline needs serious repairs. The under-20 team hasn’t won its age group World Cup since 2012, the under-17s have never won it, and pre-college player development is mostly run by local youth teams that are in it for themselves, not the bigger picture.

» READ MORE: After Sweden eliminates U.S., England and Spain are World Cup favorites

The NWSL desperately needs a homegrown player system like MLS has, even if NWSL teams don’t yet have the money for full-fledged youth academies. Players like the San Diego Wave’s 18-year-old phenom Jaedyn Shaw, who was allowed to bypass the draft because of her young age, should be the rule rather than the exception.

The sooner elite young talents are able to work with top-level pro coaches, the better. If it means getting them out of the college ranks — and more importantly, out of youth clubs that care more about their own results (and bank accounts) than player development — so be it.

The evolution has already happened on the men’s side, and the results are clear. Look no further than the Union’s incredible track record for proof.

Crocker doesn’t have all the power to force such a change, but he’s got plenty, and he’s got a big bullhorn. He should be encouraged to use it.

He also should be encouraged to remind the public of what the U.S. team has now, and will have in the next World Cup cycle that begins now. Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Alyssa Thompson, Ashley Sanchez, Trinity Rodman, and Savannah DeMelo have now stood on the biggest stage of all (though Sanchez frustratingly didn’t play).

They have seen what it takes and surely will be fired up to make a statement as soon as next year’s Olympics in Paris.

» READ MORE: Sophia Smith’s family reveled in watching the USWNT’s World Cup breakout star

“I think anyone who would say the U.S. is done is very mistaken,” Girma said Sunday night. “There’s a lot of us coming up who are going to learn from this, a lot of us who are going to be motivated to get better and get better results. So yeah, I think there’s a lot more ahead of us, and that’s exciting.”

Then add in Shaw, Catarina Macario, Mallory Swanson, Tierna Davidson, Mia Fishel, and Sam Coffey, all 25 years or younger. They are talent for the present and future. Girma, 23, was the best U.S. player at this World Cup, and it’s been decades since that’s been said of any U.S. player near that age.

“Now it’s time for us to move on, and time for the new ones to cement themselves — and we’re seeing that in this tournament for sure,” Megan Rapinoe said after her last World Cup game ended with her shockingly shooting a penalty kick over the crossbar.

She spoke for herself and many other veterans such as Julie Ertz, who admitted after the game that her national team career is likely over; Kelly O’Hara; Alyssa Naeher; and Becky Sauerbrunn, who missed her last World Cup due to injury.

If you don’t want to hear it from Rapinoe — and yes, I know how many Inquirer readers don’t want to hear from her, because you’ve barraged me with emails for years — then take it from some of Sweden’s stars. Veteran playmaker Kosovare Asllani was as blunt as an Eagles fan calling WIP when I asked her if she thinks the U.S. is done for good.

“I’ve heard there’s been a lot of talk about it, but they will come back for sure,” she said. “They have so much quality in their team, and this defeat will not take them down. I expect them to be ready for the next World Cup. … I wouldn’t say that they’re out of the game at all. So don’t talk [expletive] about the U.S. women.”

» READ MORE: USWNT captain Lindsey Horan responds to Carli Lloyd’s criticism of the team’s World Cup effort

Magdalena Eriksson concurred, highlighting Girma and Smith’s play and Macario and Swanson’s absences.

“The future is still bright for the U.S.,” she said. “They’re still a massive powerhouse in women’s football, and they will be for a long time.”

The next era won’t have Andonovski involved, obviously. But while criticism of his tactics is well-earned, any criticism of him personally is not. He has deep integrity, and signed off Sunday night with remarks that were honorably selfless.

“I’ve never even thought of what was for me,” he said, “because I never step on the field, never come in the locker room or into training thinking what is for me, or where I stand. I never coached to save my job — I always came in to do my job, to prepare this team to represent the country in the best possible manner.”

That way of doing things, he later added, “will never change, and no matter what happens in the future, that’s how I will approach this job or any other job.”

» READ MORE: Women’s World Cup TV schedule, live streaming, kickoff times on Fox and Telemundo

It’s not just bluster. Andonovski failed at this job, but he really is that good of a person. He’ll no doubt get another marquee coaching job soon enough, whether in the NWSL or abroad. If it’s in the club realm, it should surprise no one if he finds a way to keep contributing to the overhaul of the U.S. women’s team that he launched, by coaching new young talents to the level the U.S. program demands.

Those players might even play on home soil in 2027 if the U.S. bid to host that tournament is successful. It could be an almighty revenge tour, with that World Cup preceded by the Paris Olympics and followed by the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

So let the party roll on for now in Australia, a country that knows a lot about throwing big bashes. But when the drinks are done and the music stops, don’t be surprised if some familiar faces are waiting outside the graveyard’s gates.