2008 Algarve Cup
 | |
| 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 | 66 (2.75 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
 Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir (6 goals) |
| Best player |
Cathrine Paaske Sørensen |
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 in a repeat of the previous year's final.
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 amount of points in a group, their head-to-head result determined the higher placed.
Group stage
All times local (WET/UTC+0)
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark |
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 |
 Germany |
6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 |
 Sweden |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 |
 Finland |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 |
5 March 2008 15:45 |
| Finland |
1–3 | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
Talonen  64' |
Ljungberg 25' Fischer 29'Lundin 87' |
Municipal Stadium, Lagos |
10 March 2008 13:15 |
| Sweden |
0–2 | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Smisek 25' Prinz 86' (pen) |
Municipal Stadium, Vila Real de Santo António |
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 PR |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 |
5 March 2008 13:45 |
| China PR |
0–4 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tarpley 5' Heath 47'Wambach 64'Lloyd 69' |
Municipal Stadium, Albufeira |
5 March 2008 16:15 |
| Norway |
4–2 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Thorsnes 9' Storløkken 47'Stangeland Horpestad 63' (pen)Kaurin 74' |
Panico 34' Gabbiadini 86' |
Restinga Stadium, Alvor |
7 March 2008 16:15 |
| Norway |
3–1 | China PR |
|---|---|---|
| unknown 42' (o.g.) Storløkken 64'Wiik 90' |
Yue Guo 62' |
Municipal Stadium, Albufeira |
10 March 2008 15:00 |
| United States |
4–0 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Kai 55' Wambach 57'O'Reilly 65'Rodriguez 90' |
Report |
Restinga Stadium, Alvor |
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 |
7 March 2008 16:30 |
| Republic of Ireland |
1–4 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Grant 23' |
Arnardóttir 7' Viðarsdóttir 12', 40'Gunnarsdóttir 19' |
Municipal Stadium, Lagos |
10 March 2008 15:45 |
| Portugal |
0–3 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Viðarsdóttir 15', 17' Jónsdóttir 69' |
Municipal Stadium, Vila Real de Santo António |
Placement play-offs
All times local (WET/UTC+0)
11th place
12 March 2008 10:00 |
| Republic of Ireland |
2–2 (5–6 PSO) |
Poland |
|---|---|---|
| O'Brien O'Gorman |
Stobba 23' Winczo 48' |
Arsenio Catuna Complex, Guia |
9th place
12 March 2008 10:00 |
| China PR |
1–1 (5–4 PSO) |
Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Yan Bi 1' |
Fernandes 34' | |
| Penalties | ||
Jie Li  Yuan Xu Kun Wang  Ying Yan Bi Xiaoli Song |
5 – 4 | Matias Vieira Fernandes Brandão Couto Valinho |
CD Montechoro, Albufeira |
7th place
12 March 2008 10:30 |
| Finland |
0–3 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Viðarsdóttir 12' Hönnudóttir 41'Gunnarsdóttir 90' |
Municipal Stadium, Loulé |
5th place
3rd place
12 March 2008 10:00 |
| Germany |
0–2 | Norway |
|---|---|---|
| Wiik 41' Knutsen 50' |
Municipal Stadium, Vila Real de Santo António |
Final
       |
   |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 Algarve Cup |
|---|
United States Sixth title |
| ||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
