Vlatko Andonovski Hired as USWNT Head Coach After Jill Ellis Steps Down

Vlatko Andonovski will succeed Jill Ellis as head coach of the United States women's national team, a move that was made official on Monday.  

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl first reported the hire on Oct. 24.

Andonovski was hired after a stint with Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League. The Reign reached the semifinals of the NWSL playoffs, losing 4-1 to the North Carolina Courage.

Prior to coaching the Reign, the 43-year-old was in charge of FC Kansas City, who won the NWSL title in 2014 and 2015.

Wahl reported Andonovski emerged as the "preferred choice of the current USWNT players."

Jen Buczkowski, who played for Andonovski in Kansas City, spoke highly of how he connected with his squad.

"I think he gains a lot of respect from his players, and he does it in the right way," Buczkowski said, per espnW.com's Graham Hays. "Even though we hated him in the beginning for all the running."

Andonovski will have big shoes to fill. The USWNT successfully repeated as World Cup champion this past summer, and Ellis was a two-time FIFA World Women's Coach of the Year.

In addition to maintaining the incredibly high standards for the national team, he'll have to start building a bridge to the next generation.

Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Becky Sauerbrunn and Ali Krieger are all 34 or older, so they're unlikely to be around for the 2023 World Cup. Andonovski can also expect to be without Alex Morgan for the foreseeable future after she announced Wednesday she's expecting her first child with husband Servando Carrasco.

The team's immediate focus will be the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The U.S. is looking to atone for a fifth-place finish in 2016, and many of the key players from the World Cup run should still be available to play.