The United States fell short tactically at the Women's World Cup and must now look to their European rivals for inspiration.

That is the view of former Italy striker and head coach Carolina Morace, who believes the USA's previous dominance of the women's game owed largely to their players' physical attributes.

The four-time winners recorded their worst-ever World Cup performance in Australia and New Zealand, losing to Sweden in a last-16 penalty shoot-out after narrowly avoiding a humiliating group-stage elimination in a goalless draw with Portugal.

Vlatko Andonovski resigned as head coach in the aftermath of their exit, with the USA having failed to score in back-to-back World Cup games for the first time in the tournament's history. 

Morace, who scored over 100 goals for Italy before coaching Le Azzurre between 2000 and 2005, believes the USA paid the price for falling behind their more astute rivals.

"They dominated the scene for years because physically the players were stronger, more trained than all the others," Morace told Stats Perform. "[Now] all the teams have physically grown. 

"They had to improve tactically. I coached Canada for a couple of years [between 2009 and 2011]. European football does not arrive there. 

"The innovations are in Europe, so the innovations that have been in Europe have not been [happening] in America. I don't know. 

"I am referring to occupying the empty spaces rather than passing between the lines, wanting to dominate the game, starting from the goalkeeper and pressing offensively. These are things they aren't used to doing, because it's a different kind of football there.

"In Australia and New Zealand, rugby is the national sport, so innovations come from there. Football is from Europe and innovations certainly come from here. 

"Maybe they thought that on a physical level they could still make up for the gaps they may have tactically, and it wasn't like this."

The USA scored just four times from 9.14 expected goals (xG) in their four games at the tournament, with star striker Alex Morgan failing to net from 17 attempts totalling 2.96 xG.

The World Cup – eventually won by Spain following Olga Carmona's final strike against England – was defined by upsets, with Germany and Brazil suffering group-stage eliminations.

Jamaica, South Africa, Morocco and Colombia earned plaudits by reaching the knockout stages, and Morace believes a sense of unpredictability contributed to the tournament's success. 

"It was an absolutely special World Cup because teams like Germany, the United States and Brazil immediately left the competition. It is clear that this has shocked everyone," she said.

"This certainly means that, on one hand, some teams have grown a lot, but it also means that teams like the USA or Germany or Brazil had to do better. 

"It was a very, very special World Cup. In the end, however, the final was played between the two best teams. Spain and England were the two teams absolutely on a tactical level and also on a technical level. They expressed the best football. 

"I wouldn't say that from a tactical point of view this was the best World Cup ever, because we saw that many teams had little possession, especially teams like South Africa, like Nigeria.

"The big teams probably didn't expect to find teams that played a different kind of football, more physical and more vertical. Then, in the end, the World Cup was won by the team that had the most possession in the whole championship."

Victors Spain managed more build-up attacks (23) than any other team at the World Cup, ahead of runners-up England (20). Meanwhile, the Lionesses were the only side to better Spain's 92 sequences of 10 or more passes, recording 100.

United States head coach Vlatko Andonovski has stepped down from his position in the wake of the team’s last-16 exit at the World Cup.

The two-time defending champions’ hopes of a further triumph in Australia and New Zealand were ended by a penalty shootout defeat to Sweden.

Assistant coach Twila Kilgore has been named as the team’s interim head coach.

In a statement on the US Soccer website, Andonovski, who succeeded Jill Ellis in 2019, said: “It’s been the honour of my life to coach the talented, hard-working players of the USWNT for the past four years.

“I’m very optimistic for the future of this programme, especially considering all the young players that got opportunities over the past few years who will no doubt be leaders and impact players moving forward.

“While we are all disappointed by the outcome at this year’s World Cup, I am immensely proud of the progress this team has made, the support they’ve shown for each other and the inspiration they’ve provided for players around the world.

“I will be forever thankful to the US Soccer Federation for giving me the chance to coach this remarkable team.”

US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker said: “All of us at US Soccer thank Vlatko for his dedication to our women’s national team over the past four years.

“Vlatko worked tirelessly for this team and has been a strong and positive leader for our women’s program.

“We’re grateful for everything he has contributed to US Soccer and know he has a bright future in the sport.”

Andonovski led the USA to the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics, but defeat to Sweden condemned the four-time world champions to their worst ever finish at a World Cup.

They won just one of their four games at the tournament, eventually going out 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw with Sweden.

England and the United States are set to pack out Wembley in a tantalising October clash between the Euro 2022 and Women's World Cup winners, hailed by Sarina Wiegman as "the perfect game".

News of the planned October 7 fixture arrived two days after England completed their European triumph in front of 87,192 spectators at the national stadium in London, beating Germany 2-1 in a final that went to extra time.

It was a record crowd for a European Championship game, men's or women's, and the feverish support for the women's in England looks set to guarantee another full house.

The US women's side beat England 2-1 in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals, and the two teams are expected to be among the trophy challengers at next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

England still have work to do to be absolutely sure of their place in that tournament, but a point away to Austria on September 3 or a home win over Luxembourg three days later would make sure. In the highly unlikely event that England miss out on an automatic place, the USA game would have to be cancelled or postponed.

England boss Wiegman said: "It would be the perfect game for our squad to meet another strong team after so many tough games in the Euros. It is good we enjoy the moment we are in after this wonderful summer, but we know we still have to work to do to take the next step forward."

USA head coach Vlatko Andonovski is relishing the trip, saying: "This is exactly the kind of match we need at exactly the right time in our World Cup preparations so we can test ourselves against a very talented England team.

"I saw England play live at the Euros, and I'm looking forward to an amazing atmosphere at Wembley and another big event for women's soccer on October 7."