The United States won the Algarve Cup on Wednesday, defeating Iceland 4-2 in the final in Faro, Portugal. Earlier in the day, Canada defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in extra time to win the Cyprus Cup.
The win is the eighth Algarve Cup title for the United States, which appeared in its ninth-straight final. Canada’s Cyprus Cup triumph is the third in four years after the team also won the tournament in 2008 and 2010.
Algarve Cup
The United States jumped out to an early lead behind a 10th minute goal from midfielder Carli Lloyd, who took an Amy Rodriguez pass and fired it past Iceland goalkeeper Gudbjorg Gunnarsdóttir.
But the lead did not last long. Iceland jumped out to a surprising lead midway through the first half with two goals in three minutes. Margret Vidarsdóttir scored the equalizer in the 26th minute on a rebound in front of Nicole Barnhart’s goal. Two minutes later, Hallbera Gisladóttir shockingly put Iceland ahead.
Lauren Cheney finished a cross from Megan Rapinoe in first half stoppage time to give the U.S. a critical equalizing goal before halftime. The whistle blew seconds later and the game went to the half tied at 2-2.
In the 55th minute, Heather O’Reilly struck for the game-winner for the United States when she cleaned up the rebound from Shannon Boxx’s shot. The goal proved to be enough for the U.S., although second half substitute Alex Morgan ensured the outcome when she scored her third goal of the tournament in the 87th minute to make it 4-2. Morgan finished as the tournament’s top scorer.
Here are are how things played out in the other matches, along with the final standings for the Algarve Cup:
Algarve Cup Placement Matches
11th Place Match: Romania 1, Chile 1 (Chile wins 6-5 in penalty kicks)
9th Place Match: Portugal 2, Finland 1
7th Place Match: China 2, Wales 1
5th Place Match: Norway 0, Denmark 0 (Norway wins 5-4 in penalty kicks)
3rd Place Match: Japan 2, Sweden 1
Championship: USA 4, Iceland 2
Algarve Cup Final Standings
1. USA
2. Iceland
3. Japan
4. Sweden
5. Norway
6. Denmark
7. China
8. Wales
9. Portugal
10. Finland
11. Chile
12. Romania
Most Valuable Player: Homare Sawa (JPN)
Top Scorer: Alex Morgan (USA)
Fair Play: Chile
Cyprus Cup
In the Cyprus Cup, Canada prevailed 2-1 in extra time of the final. Canada forward Jonelle Filigno scored the opening goal in the 20th minute to put Canada ahead 1-0, but the Netherlands equalized in the 40th minute off a goal from Claudia van den Heiligenberg. She worked a give-and-go with teammate Kirsten van de Ven and van den Heiligenberg slipped the ball past Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod.
Emily Zurrer scored in the 99th minute – nine minutes into the first extra time – to help Canada secure the 2-1 victory. Of concern for Canada will be an injury McLeod sustained. She was taken off the field in the 89th minute. Her status is unknown. Stephanie Labbé filled in as goalkeeper for the extra time session.
Other results:
11th Place: Switzerland 2-1 Northern Ireland
9th Place: Italy 2-0 Russia
7th Place: Mexico 5-0 New Zealand
5th Place: England 2-0 Korea Republic
3rd Place: France 3-0 Scotland
Championship: Canada 2-1 Netherlands
