Vlatko Andonovski has to go! Winners and losers as USWNT boss must take the blame for embarrassing World Cup exit after Sweden shootout agony

Andonovski's tenure as USWNT boss must only have days left, if that, after these truly shocking few weeks. The head coach has been questioned throughout this tournament, with his team selection often leaving a lot to be desired and his in-game management doing the same.

On Sunday, he appeared to all-but-nail the former, the decision to bring Sonnett into the midfield making the U.S. look much more solid after it had been an area of weakness for the first three games. However, he again made very few changes to the team throughout the evening, only one substitution coming before the end of the 90 minutes as the USWNT failed to make its dominance of the ball count.

Smith continued to look limited out wide, too, but it wasn't until midway through extra-time that Andonovski moved her into a central role, which was particularly baffling given how much Morgan struggled to get into the game there. The only other substitutions made were moments before the penalty shootout, as Kristie Mewis and O'Hara came on to take spot-kicks. It's always a risky tactic and it didn't pay off in the latter's case.

That the USWNT crashed out having scored just once since opening with a 3-0 win over Vietnam was completely inexplicable given the attacking talent Andonovski had at his disposal. He didn't find the right formula or get those stars to click in the final third, and that was another failure that is almost certainly going to cost him his job.

Maker of 11 saves in Melbourne, Musovic was absolutely incredible to help her stuttering team stay in the game and eventually progress to the quarter-finals.

Sweden were poor on Sunday. They struggled to keep the ball, they didn't create enough chances and they invited a lot of pressure onto themselves. Fortunately for them, though, Musovic was on top form to keep the USWNT at bay. Her save to deny Horan, who caught the ball so sweetly from an Emily Fox cross, was one of the best seen at this tournament.

She was the Player of the Match. Easily.

Rapinoe is a two-time World Cup winner, an Olympic gold medallist and one of the greatest players ever to represent the USWNT. That her career for her country ended with her missing a penalty, then, was cruel.

We've been reminded over the past few weeks that football can indeed be cruel. In the group stages, it was Christine Sinclair and Marta who bowed out on this huge stage in underwhelming fashion. In the last 16, Rapinoe has followed them.

With the winger failing to impress in her appearances in the tournament, too, it's been anything but a dream of a 'last dance' for an icon of the sport.

Sweden have come close to major tournament glory time and time again. Only two years ago, they were on the wrong end of a huge penalty shootout result, losing to Canada in the Olympic gold medal match. The team picked up a silver medal in 2016 in Rio, came third at the 2019 Women's World Cup and were semi-finalists again at the Euros in England last year.

They have a lot of pedigree, then, and know-how when it comes to navigating these tournaments, and while they were certainly nowhere near their best on Sunday in this victory, such a dramatic triumph is sure to give them a lot of confidence moving forward as they finally try to end that wait for glory.

Coming into this tournament, Morgan was in pretty decent form. After winning the NWSL Golden Boot at the end of 2022, she netted five times in her first 11 league games for the San Diego Wave in 2023, too. However, she just didn't turn up at this World Cup.

The 34-year-old started with an electric assist for Smith in the win over Vietnam but struggled after that, unable to impact games as she would like or finish chances in her typically clinical manner - missing a penalty in that opening game, even.

What made it all the more frustrating was that she maintained her role as the No.9 despite these below-par performances while Smith, scorer of 10 goals in 13 NWSL games this year, was made to play out wide.

The USWNT's most impressive performer on the night, Sonnett came out of this game with her reputation enhanced, for sure. After the midfield had proved to be something of a weakness for the team in the group stages, Sonnett's introduction in there made the U.S. much more solid and it helped them to dominate their opponent.

Had chances been taken in the final third, she would've won a lot more plaudits for her effectiveness. The focus, though, will deservedly be on everything that went wrong, instead.

One of the most in-form centre forwards on the planet ahead of this World Cup, scoring six goals in her final four games for the Portland Thorns before beginning her international duty, that Smith was used as a left winger was a waste.

Not only does the 22-year-old score tons from a central role, she also creates a whole lot, as evidenced by the five assists she has alongside her 10 goals after just 13 league games in 2023.

But Andonovski persisted with Morgan as the No.9 and it meant that, despite starting with a great performance against Vietnam, Smith was unable to make a real mark on this tournament, the lasting memory set to be her firing the penalty that would have taken the U.S. through over the bar. That should not have been the case.

No USWNT player had a better World Cup than Girma. That will be of little consolation to the 23-year-old as she deals with a devastating exit that ends her first taste of this tournament, but she should be proud of the way she has performed over the last few weeks.

There are few better centre-backs in the world right now, even, than the San Diego Wave star, whose ability on the ball, composure under pressure and reading of play make her a world-class player already, despite her young age.

While the USWNT was missing captain Becky Sauerbrunn through injury, Girma stepped up and showed that she can be a key player for her country for many, many years to come.