2008_Algarve_Cup
2008 Algarve Cup
International football competition
The 2008 Algarve Cup was the fifteenth edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place between 5 and 12 March 2008 with the reigning champions the United States winning the event for a record sixth time, after defeating Denmark, 2–1, in the final game[1] in a repeat of the previous year's final.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Portugal |
| Dates | 5–12 March 2008 |
| Teams | 12 (from 3 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 9 (in 9 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United States (6th title) |
| Runners-up |  Denmark |
| Third place |  Norway |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 68 (2.83 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir (6 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Cathrine Paaske Sørensen |
← 2007 2009 → | |
The twelve invited teams were split into three groups that played a round-robin tournament. The entrants were almost identical to the previous year, but Italy moved up into Group B from their previous ranking in 2007, replacing France who did not feature this time. Poland appeared in the competition for the first time.
Groups A and B, containing the strongest ranked teams, were the only ones in contention to win the title. The group winners from A and B contested the final, with the runners-up playing for third place and those that finished third in these two groups playing for fifth place.
The teams in Group C were playing for places 7–12, with the winner of Group C playing the team that finished fourth in Group A or B with the better record for seventh place and the Group C runner-up playing the team which came last in Group A or B with the worse record for ninth place. The third and fourth-placed teams in Group C played for eleventh place.
Points awarded in the group stage follow the standard formula of three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. In the case of two teams being tied on the same number of points in a group, their head-to-head result determined the higher placed.
The twelve invited teams were:
| Team | FIFA Rankings (December 2007) |
|---|---|
 Germany | 1 |
| United States | 2 |
 Sweden | 3 |
| Norway | 5 |
| Denmark | 8 |
 China | 13 |
 Italy | 14 |
 Finland | 16 |
| Iceland | 21 |
 Poland | 27 |
 Republic of Ireland | 31 |
 Portugal (hosts) | 47 |
All times local (WET/UTC+0)
Group A
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 |
| Norway |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Italy |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 |
| China |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 |
| Norway | 4–2 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
Thorsnes  9'Storløkken 47'Stangeland Horpestad 63' (pen)Kaurin 74' |
Panico 34' Gabbiadini 86' |
Group C
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland |
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 |
| Portugal |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| Republic of Ireland |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 |
| Poland |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 |
| Republic of Ireland | 1–4 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Grant 23' |
Arnardóttir 7' Viðarsdóttir 12', 40'Gunnarsdóttir 19' |
All times local (WET/UTC+0)
11th place
| Republic of Ireland | 2–2 (5–6 PSO) | Poland |
|---|---|---|
| O'Brien O'Gorman |
Stobba 23' Winczo 48' |
9th place
| China | 1–1 (5–4 PSO) | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Bi Yan 1' |
Fernandes 34' |
|
| Penalties | ||
Li Jie  Xu Yuan Wang Kun  Ying Bi Yan Song Xiaoli |
5 – 4 | Matias Vieira Fernandes Brandão Couto Valinho |
7th place
| Finland | 0–3 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Viðarsdóttir 12' Hönnudóttir 41'Gunnarsdóttir 90' |
5th place
| Sweden | 3–0 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Öqvist 56' Svensson 61', 80' |
SvFF Report (in Swedish) |
3rd place
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- "US women win soccer's Algarve Cup". Toronto Star. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
| 2008 Algarve Cup |
|---|
 United States Sixth title |