The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and longest-running women's international football events and has been nicknamed the "Mini FIFA Women's World Cup".[1]

Algarve Cup
Founded1994
Region Portugal
Number of teams12
Current champions Sweden (5th title)
Most successful team(s) United States (10 titles)
WebsiteOfficial website
2022 Algarve Cup

The most successful teams have been the United States, with ten titles, followed by Norway and Sweden with five, and Germany with four. The United States has won all its titles since 2000, including nine in thirteen years since 2003. China has won twice.[2] The United States, Norway, Germany, and Spain are the only nations to have won both the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Algarve Cup.

The Algarve Cup, as an annual event featuring most of the world's top women's football teams, has no parallel in the men's game, given that there are fewer professional women's leagues and thus fewer scheduling conflicts. It is played in late February or early March, at the same time as the Arnold Clark Cup, the Cup of Nations, the Cyprus Women's Cup, the Istria Cup, the Pinatar Cup, the SheBelieves Cup, the Tournoi de France, the Turkish Women's Cup and the Women's Revelations Cup.

Format

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Estádio Algarve, one of the stadiums used in the tournament

From 2002 to 2014, 12 teams were invited, with the top eight competing for the championship. The teams were divided into three groups of four — A, B and C. Group C was added in 2002 to provide second-tier teams with high-level match experience every year. The teams first played round-robin within their pool. Then the placement round proceeded as follows:

  • 11th place: The two bottom teams in Group C played one game.
  • 9th place: The Group C runner-up played one game against the lower-ranked of the fourth-place teams from Groups A and B.
  • 7th place: The Group C winner played one game against the higher-ranked of the fourth-place teams from Groups A and B.
  • 5th place: The third-place teams from Groups A and B played one game.
  • 3rd place: The second-place teams from Groups A and B played one game.
  • 1st place: The first-place teams from Groups A and B played one game.

In 2015, Group C teams became eligible for the final, which is now played between the two best group winners.[3] If teams are tied on points, finishing positions will be determined by the following tie-breaking criteria in the following order:[4]

  1. number of points obtained in the matches among the teams in question
  2. goal difference in all the group matches
  3. number of goals scored in all the group matches
  4. fair-play ranking in all the group matches
  5. FIFA ranking

The placement round is now as follows:

  • 11th place match: 3rd best 4th placed team vs. 2nd best 4th placed team
  • 9th place match: best 4th placed team vs. 3rd best 3rd placed team
  • 7th place match: 2nd best 3rd placed team vs. best 3rd placed team
  • 5th place match: 3rd best 2nd placed team vs. 2nd best 2nd placed team
  • 3rd place match: 3rd best group winner vs. best 2nd placed team
  • Final: Best group winner vs. 2nd best group winner

Results

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Edition Year Final Third Place Match Number of teams
Winners Score Runners-up Third Place Score Fourth Place
1 1994  
Norway
1–0  
United States
 
Sweden
1–0  
Denmark
6
2 1995  
Sweden
3–2 (a.e.t.)  
Denmark
 
Norway
3–3 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
 
United States
8
3 1996  
Norway
4–0  
Sweden
 
China
2–1  
Denmark
8
4 1997  
Norway
1–0  
China
 
Sweden
0–0
(6–5 p)
 
Denmark
8
5 1998  
Norway
4–1  
Denmark
 
United States
3–1  
Sweden
8
6 1999  
China
2–1  
United States
 
Norway
2–2 (a.e.t.)
(4–1 p)
 
Denmark
8
7 2000  
United States
1–0  
Norway
 
China
1–0  
Sweden
8
8 2001  
Sweden
3–0  
Denmark
 
China
5–1  
Canada
8
9 2002  
China
1–0  
Norway
 
Sweden
2–1  
Germany
12
10 2003  
United States
2–0  
China
 
Norway
1–0  
France
12
11 2004  
United States
4–1  
Norway
 
France
3–3
(4–3 p)
 
Italy
12
12 2005  
United States
1–0  
Germany
 
France
3–2  
Sweden
12
13 2006  
Germany
0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
 
United States
 
Sweden
1–0  
France
11
14 2007  
United States
2–0  
Denmark
 
Sweden
3–1  
France
12
15 2008  
United States
2–1  
Denmark
 
Norway
2–0  
Germany
12
16 2009  
Sweden
1–1
(4–3 p)
 
United States
 
Denmark
1–0  
Germany
12
17 2010  
United States
3–2  
Germany
 
Sweden
2–0  
China
12
18 2011  
United States
4–2  
Iceland
 
Japan
2–1  
Sweden
12
19 2012  
Germany
4–3  
Japan
 
United States
4–0  
Sweden
12
20 2013  
United States
2–0  
Germany
 
Norway
2–2 (a.e.t.)
(3–2 p)
 
Sweden
12
21 2014  
Germany
3–0  
Japan
 
Iceland
2–1  
Sweden
12
22 2015  
United States
2–0  
France
 
Germany
2–1  
Sweden
12
23 2016  
Canada
2–1  
Brazil
 
Iceland
1–1
(6–5 p)
 
New Zealand
8
24 2017  
Spain
1–0  
Canada
 
Denmark
1–1
(4–1 p)
 
Australia
12
25 2018   Netherlands and   Sweden
The final was cancelled due to heavy rain
 
Portugal
2–1  
Australia
12
26 2019  
Norway
3–0  
Poland
 
Canada
0–0
(6–5 p)
 
Sweden
12
27 2020  
Germany
3–0 (awarded)[a]  
Italy
 
Norway
2–1  
New Zealand
8
2021 Cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic[citation needed] Cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic[citation needed]
28 2022  
Sweden
1–1
(6–5 p)
 
Italy
 
Norway
2–0  
Portugal
5
2023 Not held due to Portugal's participation in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification play-offs[7] Not held due to Portugal's participation in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification play-offs[7]
Notes
  1. ^ The 2020 final was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Germany were awarded the win by FIFA after Italy withdrew to return home.[6]

Teams reaching the top four

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Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place Top 4
  United States 10 (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015) 4 (1994, 1999, 2006, 2009) 2 (1998, 2012) 1 (1995) 17
  Norway 5 (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2019) 3 (2000, 2002, 2004) 7 (1995, 1999, 2003, 2008, 2013, 2020, 2022) 15
  Sweden 5 (1995, 2001, 2009, 2018, 2022) 1 (1996) 6 (1994, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010) 9 (1998, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019) 21
  Germany 4 (2006, 2012, 2014, 2020) 3 (2005, 2010, 2013) 1 (2015) 3 (2002, 2008, 2009) 11
  China 2 (1999, 2002) 2 (1997, 2003) 3 (1996, 2000, 2001) 1 (2010) 8
  Canada 1 (2016) 1 (2017) 1 (2019) 1 (2001) 4
  Spain 1 (2017) 1
  Netherlands 1 (2018) 1
  Denmark 5 (1995, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2008) 2 (2009, 2017) 4 (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999) 11
  Japan 2 (2012, 2014) 1 (2011) 3
  Italy 2 (2020, 2022) 1 (2004) 3
  France 1 (2015) 2 (2004, 2005) 3 (2003, 2006, 2007) 6
  Iceland 1 (2011) 2 (2014, 2016) 3
  Brazil 1 (2016) 1
  Poland 1 (2019) 1
  Portugal 1 (2018) 1 (2022) 2
  Australia 2 (2017, 2018) 2
  New Zealand 2 (2016, 2020) 2

Medals

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  United States (USA)104216
2  Norway (NOR)53715
3  Sweden (SWE)51612
4  Germany (GER)4318
5  China (CHN)2237
6  Canada (CAN)1113
7  Netherlands (NED)1001
  Spain (ESP)1001
9  Denmark (DEN)0527
10  Japan (JPN)0213
11  Italy (ITA)0202
12  France (FRA)0123
  Iceland (ISL)0123
14  Brazil (BRA)0101
  Poland (POL)0101
16  Portugal (POR)0011
Totals (16 entries)29272884

Participating nations

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Team 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 Years
  Australia 5th 4th 4th WD 4
  Austria 10th 11th 11th 3
  Belgium 5th 6th 2
  Brazil 7th 2nd 2
  Canada 5th 4th 8th 7th 1st 2nd 5th 3rd 8
  Chile 11th 1
  China 3rd 2nd 5th 1st 3rd 3rd 1st 2nd 6th 7th 6th 10th 9th 5th 4th 7th 9th 6th 5th 12th 10th 11th 12th 23
  Denmark 4th 2nd 4th 4th 2nd 4th 6th 2nd 6th 9th 7th 6th 9th 2nd 2nd 3rd 5th 6th 5th 7th 6th 6th 7th 3rd 10th 6th 5th 5th 28
  England 9th 8th 2
  Faroe Islands 12th 1
  Finland 6th 5th 8th 6th 8th 8th 7th 7th 7th 6th 9th 10th 7th 6th 8th 7th 8th 10th 18
  France 4th 3rd 3rd 4th 4th 2nd 6
  Germany 4th 2nd 1st 8th 4th 4th 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 12
  Greece 8th 11th 2
  Hungary 12th 10th 2
  Iceland 6th 7th 9th 7th 6th 9th 2nd 6th 9th 3rd 10th 3rd 9th 9th 9th 15
  Republic of Ireland 11th 10th 11th 12th 11th 5
  Italy 7th 4th 7th 6th 2nd 2nd 6
  Japan 3rd 2nd 5th 2nd 9th 6th 6th 7
  Mexico 9th 8th 8th 3
  Netherlands 6th 5th 6th 5th 1st 11th 6
  New Zealand 4th 4th 2
  North Korea 8th 1
  Northern Ireland 12th 12th WD 2
  Norway 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 3rd 2nd 5th 2nd 3rd 2nd 5th 5th 5th 3rd 9th 6th 5th 7th 3rd 10th 5th 11th 7th 1st 3rd 3rd 27
  Poland 11th 11th 2nd 3
  Portugal 5th 8th 7th 8th 7th 7th 8th 8th 11th 10th 8th 11th 11th 12th 10th 8th 10th 9th 10th 11th 12th 11th 8th 12th 3rd 10th 8th 4th 28
  Romania 7th 12th 2
  Russia 5th 9th 6th 8th 12th 5
  Scotland 10th 5th 2
  South Korea 7th 1
  Spain 1st 7th 2
  Sweden 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 6th 4th 1st 3rd 5th 5th 4th 3rd 3rd 5th 1st 3rd 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 7th 1st 4th 7th 1st 27
  Switzerland 8th 8th 2
  United States 2nd 4th  – 3rd 2nd 1st 6th 5th 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 3rd 1st 7th 1st 20
  Wales 12th 12th 10th 12th 8th 8th 12th 7
Total (36 teams) 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 12 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 8 12 12 12 8 5

Statistics

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Teams

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As of 2022
Rank Team Part M W D L GF GA GD Points
1   United States 20 79 56 11 12 173 62 +111 179
2   Sweden 27 103 52 23 28 185 108 +78 179
3   Norway 27 103 53 14 36 175 117 +58 173
4   Denmark 28 107 42 14 51 146 151 −5 140
5   China 23 91 35 14 42 106 109 −3 119
6   Portugal 28 106 26 16 63 101 208 −107 97
7   Germany 12 44 29 2 13 94 35 +59 89
8   Iceland 15 59 21 11 27 75 93 −18 74
9   Canada 8 31 17 5 9 51 35 +16 56
10   Japan 7 28 16 1 11 45 36 +9 49
11   Italy 5 22 13 2 7 34 32 +2 41
12   France 6 24 13 2 9 34 35 −1 41
13   Finland 18 71 8 9 54 45 165 −120 33
14   Wales 7 28 9 5 14 31 47 −16 32
15   Netherlands 6 22 9 3 10 26 34 −8 30
16   Republic of Ireland 5 19 4 8 7 18 28 −10 20
17   Mexico 3 11 5 2 4 18 15 +3 17
18   Australia 3 12 4 5 3 15 14 +1 17
19   Russia 5 20 5 2 13 16 41 −25 17
20   Brazil 2 8 5 1 2 15 7 +8 16
21   Spain 2 7 5 1 1 10 4 +6 16
22   Austria 3 12 5 1 6 20 17 +3 16
23   Greece 2 8 4 2 2 9 11 −2 14
24   England 2 8 4 1 3 21 12 +9 13
25   Romania 2 8 4 3 1 13 5 +8 13
26   Scotland 2 7 4 0 3 9 10 −1 12
27   Poland 3 11 3 2 6 12 20 −8 11
28   Belgium 2 7 3 1 3 10 9 +1 10
29   North Korea 1 4 3 0 1 6 4 +2 9
30   Hungary 2 8 2 1 5 7 14 −7 7
31   New Zealand 2 7 1 3 3 4 8 −4 6
32   South Korea 1 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
33   Switzerland 1 4 1 1 2 5 9 −4 4
34   Northern Ireland 2 8 1 0 7 4 19 −15 3
35   Chile 1 4 0 2 2 2 5 −3 2
36   Faroe Islands 1 4 0 0 4 1 19 −18 0

Individuals

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Year Best Player Top Scorer Goals
1994   Ann Kristin Aarones   Ann Kristin Aarones 5
1995   Helle Jensen   Helle Jensen 6
1996   Hege Riise
1997   Marianne Pettersen
1998   Marianne Pettersen
1999   Tiffeny Milbrett   Tiffeny Milbrett 4
2000   Dagny Mellgren   Dagny Mellgren 4
2001   Hanna Ljungberg   Hanna Ljungberg 6
2002   Bai Jie   Shannon MacMillan 7
2003   Liu Ying   Hanna Ljungberg 4
2004   Shannon Boxx   Abby Wambach 4
2005   Birgit Prinz   Christie Welsh 5
2006   Shannon Boxx
2007   Carli Lloyd   Carli Lloyd 7
2008   Cathrine Paaske-Sørensen   Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir 6
2009   Hope Solo   Kerstin Garefrekes
  Jayne Ludlow
  Lotta Schelin
3
2010   Inka Grings   Inka Grings 7
2011   Homare Sawa   Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir 4
2012   Aya Miyama   Célia Okoyino da Mbabi 6
2013   Megan Rapinoe   Kosovare Asllani
  Alex Morgan
3
2014   Dzsenifer Marozsán   Dzsenifer Marozsán 4
2015   Eugénie Le Sommer   Sofia Jakobsson 4
2016   Kadeisha Buchanan   Janice Cayman 4
2017   Irene Paredes   Pernille Harder
  Kumi Yokoyama
4
2018   Cláudia Neto   Lieke Martens
  Christine Sinclair
  Fridolina Rolfö
3
2019   Jennifer Hermoso
  Mimmi Larsson
3
2020   Nanna Christiansen
  Cristiana Girelli
  Pernille Harder
  Synne Jensen
2
2022   Barbara Bonansea   Valentina Giacinti
  Celin Bizet Ildhusøy
2

References

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  1. ^ "Women's game thriving in the Algarve". FIFA. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Algarve Cup (Women)". RSSSF.
  3. ^ "DFB-Frauen beim Algarve-Cup gegen Brasilien, China und Schweden". dfb.de. 19 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Regulations" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Alemanha vence competição". fpf.pt. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  6. ^ Whyatt, Katie (10 March 2020). "Italy women pull out of Algarve Cup final due to coronavirus disruption". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Inget Algarve Cup 2023". svenskfotboll.se. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Algarve Women's Football Cup". Playmaker. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
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