Vlatko Andonovski Called out by USWNT Fans After 2nd Straight Loss in Spain Friendly

Vlatko Andonovski's seat might be getting pretty warm.

The USWNT manager watched as his team lost 2-0 to Spain in an international on Tuesday, the country's second straight loss after falling to defending European champions England 2-1 four days ago.

And USWNT fans weren't happy with the performance, with many placing the responsibility squarely on Andonovski's shoulders:

It's impossible to ignore the context that this game was being played in the aftermath of the report released last week by former U.S. deputy attorney general Sally Yates, who found that the NWSL fostered a systemic, toxic culture for its players. Yates had been commissioned by the league and U.S. Soccer to investigate following numerous reports of sexual, emotional and verbal abuse of players.

"Our investigation has revealed a league in which abuse and misconduct—verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct—had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims," a summary of the investigation stated. "Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players."

It was also a younger USWNT roster that was missing a number of veterans for the European trip.

But the expectations for the two-time defending World Cup champions are much higher than a 2-0 loss to Spain, regardless of the circumstances, especially since Spain itself was playing without 15 senior players who have refused to play because they are not happy with the state of the team and how it's being run by the Spanish federation and head coach Jorge Vilda.

Losing back-to-back games is not the standard for the USWNT. Since underwhelming at the Tokyo Olympics, winning only bronze, there have been questions about whether Andonovski was the right person for the job.

With the 2023 World Cup looming in July 2023, Andonovski has a lot to prove.