United States coach Vlatko Andonovski rejects criticism of shaky World Cup campaign
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United States players training in Melbourne on Aug 5, on the eve of their Women's World Cup match against Sweden.
PHOTO: AFP
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MELBOURNE – United States coach Vlatko Andonovski mounted an impassioned defence of his team’s standards and said criticism of their World Cup campaign was unfair, as the defending champions prepare for Sunday’s last-16 clash against Sweden.
The Americans head into their first knockout clash in Melbourne under fire after having scraped through the group stage with draws against the Netherlands and Portugal.
Retired US great Carli Lloyd gave a scathing assessment of the Portugal game, which they drew 0-0, saying the post that saved the team in stoppage time was the “Player of the Match”.
Andonovski insisted the criticism was out of order.
“For someone to question the standards and mindset of this team after everything that they do, I personally don’t think it’s the right time to do that,” he said on Saturday.
“And I don’t think it’s the right thing as well.
“I’m very happy with where they’re (the players) at, they hold themselves accountable and keep raising the standards.”
Captain Lindsey Horan added that criticism of her side’s mentality “hurts” and is “frustrating” but is just “noise”.
Bidding for an unprecedented third consecutive world title, the US nearly joined Germany, Brazil and Canada on the tournament’s scrapheap against Portugal.
The early eliminations of these heavyweight nations was proof of the tournament’s competitiveness, added the coach, arguing that people should not expect the US to blow opponents away, like in past World Cups.
“We want to (win) everything by five goals. Who doesn’t want to do that, right? But those results are gone,” he said.
The Americans beat lowly Vietnam 3-0 but managed only one goal from their next two matches. The in-form Swedes, who have scored nine goals, are confident they can beat the world No. 1 side.
The two teams met in six previous editions of the World Cup, each time in the group stage, with the US winning four and losing just once.
They have contrasting routes to this knockout stage, as Sweden topped their group with a perfect record. Not that it mattered to their coach, however.
“I don’t care about favourites,” Peter Gerhardsson said. “We have the possibility to win the game, that’s the most important thing.
“I have great confidence in this squad and in all the preparations that we’ve made... We believe we can win.”
Ahead of the other last-16 match on Sunday, coach Desiree Ellis said that “nothing can stand in the way” of her South Africa team, who face the Netherlands in Sydney.
The South Africans won their first World Cup game ever via a shock 3-2 success over Italy to reach the knockout stage.
And Ellis is confident her 54th-ranked team can produce yet another shock against a team ranked ninth in the world.
“We’ve been underestimated so many times,” she said.
“But this group has shown that when the chips are down, they can stand up.” REUTERS, AFP
