The U.S. women’s national team will be leaving Tokyo Olympics with a bronze medal and a performance that was closer to what we expected from the No. The U.S. women's national team is ranked the No. 1 in the world.Bronze medal games were the first to be played in Japan by players who were able to play the spicy, fiery style of soccer that the confident and talented Americans are well-known for. It may have been too late to convince fans, pundits and even U.S. Soccer executives not to panic.Even though a bronze medal is a great achievement, it is disappointing for the U.S. who are expected to reach the finals of major tournaments. The USWNT's games during the tournament cannot be ignored. There were problems that needed to be addressed.What's next for the USWNT? After a tournament that was positive but ultimately deemed subpar, what are their plans?Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. Only)- Do you not have ESPN? Get instant accessIs Andonovski allowed to keep his job?Vlatko Andonovski, the U.S. coach, arrived in Japan without any international tournament experience -- not as a player or as an assistant coach. He also often coached like it. His substitutions often seemed to have little to do on the field, but more to do pre-planned rotations. This may have contributed to team chemistry issues. After Andonovski spoke with them at halftime or during hydration breaks huddles, the USWNT didn't seem to be able to change when they were being overrun or kept at bay.Contrary to what many people thought, Andonovski's third place finish at the Olympics by the USWNT has not changed his mind. Uninspiring play and a bronze medal were just two more reasons why Andonovski was not hired. His appointment was cheered by many who saw enough to know that they are still curious about how he manages the team's transition. They will blame veteran players who will be phasing out for their problems.It's not like Andonovski didn't see something. Many of the USWNT’s problems in the Olympics seemed to have happened without warning. Andonovski's selection of an older roster was the primary criticism. However, such nitpicking did not take into account the fact that the USWNT's older players can still play like world beaters as evidenced by their individual brilliance in bronze medal games. Because there were limited opportunities to find new players in the midst of a pandemic and Andonovski was limited in his options, there was only so much he could do.U.S. Soccer's general manger for the women's team, Kate Markgraf, hired Andonovski to help her believe in the USWNT's potential. Even if U.S. soccer brass agree that they need a coach with greater international experience, how fast could they start the new coach? The Olympics are being delayed by a year and the 2023 World Cup is approaching faster than you might think. The World Cup may see a better coach candidate.Markgraf may not be afraid for her job, as we haven’t seen U.S. soccer’s new CEO, board president, and general managers fire anyone yet. It's also unclear what it would take. If Andonovski has learned from the mistakes of the tournament, then U.S. soccer will likely trust him and keep him on board. It won't be known until 2023 if this is the right decision.The USWNT roster is turning the pageCarli Lloyd is known for her unwavering determination and willingness to work hard, even when on vacation. She ran sprints after the Canada semifinal defeat. She claimed it was to train for the bronze medal match, where she scored one goal, the winner.The 39-year old seems like the kind of player who would keep trying to break Formiga's record. She has been talking lately about being ready for the next stage of her life. It's time for her to end. With Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, 36, and Becky Sauerbrunn, 36, all having retirement plans, there will be some roster turnover.There will then be more difficult decisions. Tobin Heath will turn 35 when the 2023 World Cup begins. Kelley O'Hara is almost 35. Alex Morgan and Christen Press both turn 34. They aren't showing any signs of slowing down, and there haven’t been any young people ready to push them out. The coach may be encouraged by a disappointing Olympics in both play and final result.Talented forwards such as Sophia Smith, Ashley Sanchez and Trinity Rodman are waiting in the wings; midfielders such as Jaelin Howell and Brianna Pinto and defenders such Emily Fox, Midge Purce, and Hailie Mace if they're available, are Catarina and Brianna Macario.Megan Rapinoe and Catarina Macario will be passing the torch to future USWNT stars. Elsa/Getty ImagesJill Ellis was criticized for giving young players starts and cutting veterans after the 2016 Olympics. Many of these newbies didn’t stay around and that’s not the USWNT’s usual way of doing things. It was difficult to get a spot on the team's starting roster. Players like Morgan and Sydney Leroux were demoted to sub roles long before it became clear that they would be important starters.However, complacency started to creep in during the Olympics. It's evident that veterans need real roster competition. They need to feel that they have to fight for their spot. Young players will only be able to make their case if they have a chance to prove themselves in the USWNT environment.Some of the young players will not make it. Some of these players will take longer to get there, while others will not be able to reach the senior USWNT levels. Now is the time for answers and to begin the process of regeneration.The USWNT urgently needs tactical evolutionThe USWNT's loss to Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics was the first major tournament exit in the team's history. It was also embarrassing for Ellis, who had just won a World Cup. Even worse, Ellis was aware of how Sweden would respond.STREAM ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ Dan Thomas is joined with Craig Burley, Shaka Herlop, and other experts to bring you the most recent highlights and discuss the major storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S only).She said that they would park the bus the day before the game. They will be as low as possible and then transition. Then they will try to end the game that way. They'll probably play a 5-2-1 and be extremely compact.It was called by her, but the USWNT couldn't match it.Ellis spent years exploring ways to avoid teams that were trying to defeat the United States. The bunker was frequently used by USWNT bad teams in desperate acts of desperation. Her team was able to overcome it. However, Sweden, a strong team, stuck to this strategy and a new, more tactically-savvy blueprint was created for defeating the USWNT.Ellis's experiments went wrong at times. For example, Ellis's 2017 experimentation with a three-back configuration led to a 3-0 defeat to France. This was the worst USWNT loss in a decade. She eventually found the answers she was looking for and won the 2019 World Cup.Andonovski was surprised to find that Sweden had given him something else when he arrived in Japan. The players were pressed so hard by the Swedish anti-bunker, and the USWNT couldn't stop them. The USWNT and Andonovski had spent months prior to the Olympics studying the best ways to destroy low defensive blocks -- which was the tactic they were most familiar with -- and they appeared shell-shocked at Sweden's aggressive press. This was especially because Sweden was bold enough to do so in the middle of a major tournament.play 1:02 Was it a success that the USWNT hosted its Olympics? Kathleen McNamee explains why the Olympics are so important for the USWNT, even though they didn't win any gold.The USWNT must evolve quickly. The new blueprint was laid out by Sweden. Teams will no longer be able to sit back and bow to the Americans. The USWNT is not going to play conservatively in opposition to opponents, as it was in past tournaments. Now that this has been proven to be successful, the opposite will happen.It will take the same messy experimentation Ellis did to determine how that evolution should look. This will also depend on the type of players Ellis brings in. The system should be able to accommodate the best players in America. It's easy to create new problems by changing tactics while trying to solve another.For example, is the USWNT's current 4-3-3 system sufficient to manage the midfield? Or should they move to a system that has four midfielders instead? Is it a flat 4-4-2 or a diamond-shaped midfield? Andonovski may try a diamond middlefield. This is inherently narrower than the current setup. Will the USWNT have full-backs to provide the required width in the future? These questions could go on forever -- each answer leads to another -- but the U.S. will only be able to find the best approach that balances all elements through focused, determined field tests.These trials and errors may result in losses. However, those losses could only serve to encourage Andonovski's critics, if he continues to hold the job. If Andonovski can take a page from Ellis and continue to do the right thing, the USWNT is likely to be in a better position going into the 2023 World Cup.
