USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski showed lack of confidence in World Cup vs. Netherlands

The story of Thursday’s 1-1 draw between the U.S. women’s national team and the Netherlands is a tale of two halves, that old chestnut. Most will view it as a strong first half from the Netherlands, then a return to form from the USWNT — but there’s another level deeper too.

In the first half, U.S. players lacked their usual confidence; in the second, head coach Vlatko Andonovski completely lacked his.

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The Netherlands’ performance shouldn’t be overlooked. They scouted the USWNT well and, in the first half, dismissed a lot of comments about what their 3-5-2 formation might offer the Americans in terms of space. But the story for the USWNT in that game can’t be about the gap closing or the quality of their opponents. These are all known facts. Instead, their story has to be about what they can control down to the very basics, like using their depth and bringing in players off the bench — something they did not do.

“We were around the goal the whole time, and I just didn’t want to disrupt the rhythm at that point because sometimes a substitute comes in and it might take a minute or two to get into a rhythm,” Andonovski said about the second half. “We just didn’t want to jeopardize anything because I thought all three of our forwards were very good today, dangerous, created opportunities and were a handful.”

To not make another change because of fears about disrupting the team’s momentum is coaching scared at that moment, and not trusting this team’s depth. For the USWNT, that’s not just a bad decision, it’s practically unbelievable considering the strength of the bench.

Fortunately for the U.S., the switch flipped following the collision between captain Lindsey Horan and the Netherlands’ Daniëlle van de Donk (her