U.S. Soccer has narrowed its search for the next USWNT coach to a shortlist headed by three candidates: Australia head coach (and former USWNT assistant) Tony Gustavsson, Juventus Women head coach Joe Montemurro and OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey, according to sources briefed on the coaching search who were not authorized to speak publicly on the current status of negotiations.
Other candidates may still be on the federation’s shortlist, but sources indicated these three names are considered to be at the top of that list. Two sources told The Athletic that Gustavsson is unlikely to relocate to the U.S. for the role, which could affect his chances of being offered the job even if he’s the federation’s top choice.
U.S. Soccer declined to comment for this story.
The USWNT managerial role has been open since August, when Vlatko Andonovski and the federation parted ways after the team’s earliest exit ever at a World Cup in the Round of 16.
Gustavsson has been one of the top candidates not only because of the deep run from the Matildas this past summer, but his history with U.S. Soccer as part of Jill Ellis’s coaching staff for the 2015 and 2019 World Cup wins. Ellis herself endorsed Gustavsson as “a strong candidate” for the role in an interview with ESPN before Andonovski had officially left. Gustavsson is contracted with Australia through the 2024 Olympics.
The sticking point appears to be the federation’s desire to have a head coach take a full-time approach to the role, though there is no formal requirement for a head coach to live in Chicago. He has largely avoided commenting on being linked to the U.S. job, though he expressed a desire to stay with Australia after the World Cup, assuming the federation increases investment in the team.
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“I was also clear then and I want to be clear now, I want to see investment – for me to be motivated to stay as well,” he said this week. “We can’t be complacent and think we’re done. This is the start and the platform. And I want to see investment.”
Montemurro may be U.S. Soccer’s next option. The Australian manager got his start coaching in the men’s game but shifted to coaching women in his home country, first guiding the Melbourne Victory, then Melbourne City in the W-League, before leaving for Arsenal in 2017. Arsenal won the Women’s Super League title in the 2018-2019 season under his guidance, and after his departure from England, he was appointed the head coach of Juventus and won the domestic treble in his first year. The club is currently second in the Serie A standings, with a perfect 5-0-0 record so far (Roma is in first due to goal differential).
Montemurro signed a contract extension with Juventus ahead of the start of this season through 2026. He does not have experience at the international level, either as a head coach or as an assistant.
Harvey has plenty of U.S. Soccer experience, having coached the U.S. U-20 national team and serving as an assistant to Andonovski with the senior side. She also coached Arsenal, but is best known to U.S. fans for her time in the NWSL with the Reign and Utah Royals FC. Harvey is a three-time NWSL coach of the year, and the Reign have won the NWSL Shield three times with Harvey as coach. In July, the Reign and Harvey reached a two-year contract extension through 2025.
Of the three top candidates, Harvey has the most familiarity with the current USWNT roster and player pool, but U.S. Soccer may be hesitant to hire from the NWSL again considering how Andovski’s time with the USWNT went.
Crocker outlined the hiring process in September, saying it would be data-driven. U.S. Soccer started with a data pass that provided hundreds of names in a candidate pool for the federation to consider, narrowed first by a technical assessment to determine if they fit the desired style of the USWNT. By September, Crocker and his staff had moved into an assessment of human skills with the list down to double-digits. Sources told The Athletic that in-person interviews had occurred for at least two candidates, which Crocker promised in September would include both a technical and tactical assessment, plus a long interview concerning the cultural fit.
Once Crocker makes his final selection, he will present it to U.S. Soccer president Cindy Cone, CEO J.T. Batson and the federation’s board for approval. The federation has aimed to have the new head coach in place ahead of the final FIFA window of 2023, scheduled to start on Nov. 27. The USWNT will play China twice in December, first in Ft. Lauderdale on Dec. 2, then in the final game of the year in Frisco, Texas on Dec. 5.
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