2008 Algarve Cup
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 |  |
| Runners-up |  |
| Third place |  |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 68 (2.83 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  |
| Best player(s) | |
Format
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.
Teams
The twelve invited teams were:
| Team | FIFA Rankings (December 2007) |
|---|---|
 | 1 |
| 2 |
 | 3 |
| 5 |
| 8 |
 | 13 |
 | 14 |
 | 16 |
| 21 |
 | 27 |
 | 31 |
 | 47 |
Group stage
All times local (WET/UTC+0)
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
|
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 |
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 |
| Finland | 1–3 | |
|---|---|---|
Talonen  |
SvFF Report (in Swedish) | Ljungberg Fischer Lundin |
| Denmark | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sørensen |
SvFF Report (in Swedish) |
| Sweden | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| SvFF Report (in Swedish) | Smisek Prinz |
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 |
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
|
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 |
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 |
| China PR | 0–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tarpley Heath Wambach Lloyd |
| Norway | 4–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Thorsnes Storløkken Stangeland Horpestad Kaurin |
Panico Gabbiadini |
| Norway | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| unknown Storløkken Wiik |
Guo Yue |
Group C
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 |
|
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
|
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 |
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 |
| Iceland | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Stefánsdóttir Viðarsdóttir |
| Portugal | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fernandes Vieira |
| Republic of Ireland | 1–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant |
Arnardóttir Viðarsdóttir Gunnarsdóttir |
| Portugal | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Viðarsdóttir Jónsdóttir |
| Poland | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant |
Placement play-offs
All times local (WET/UTC+0)
11th place
| Republic of Ireland | 2–2 (5–6 PSO) | |
|---|---|---|
| O'Brien O'Gorman |
Stobba Winczo |
9th place
7th place
| Finland | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Viðarsdóttir Hönnudóttir Gunnarsdóttir |
5th place
| Sweden | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Öqvist Svensson |
SvFF Report (in Swedish) |
Final
| Denmark | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sørensen |
Report | Kai Wambach |
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References
- "US women win soccer's Algarve Cup". Toronto Star. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
| 2008 Algarve Cup |
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United States Sixth title |
International women's association football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide |  | |
| Asia | ||
| Africa | ||
| North America, Central America and the Caribbean | ||
| South America | ||
| Oceania |
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| Europe | ||
| Non-FIFA | ||
| Games | ||
| Invitationals | ||