US Women Learn Algarve Cup Schedule

The USA Womens Team now know their dates and opponents for the prestigious Algarve Cup.

The Americans set out for Portugal on February 26th for the 2013 version of the cup, seeking their ninth win in the 20th edition of the tournament. The Americans have played in all but two.

Tom Sermanni’s side open against Iceland on March 6 at the Municipal Stadium in Albufeira. Kick-off is 6am Pacific time. In that fixture, they will face former head coach Pia Sundhage who now coaches Sweden, her native country.

Two days later the Americans face China at the same venue and time before finishing against Sweden at the Municipal Stadium in Lagos with a start time of 7am on the West Coast.

After Al Bann media failed to secure the funding, the matches will no longer be streamed live but ussoccer.com will still feature highlights of each of the U.S. games during the tournament.

However, Prost Amerika is proud to report that our womens football correspondent Kara McDermott will be in Portugal to report exclusively for us and will bring you match reports, updates and exclusive interviews.

The cup will be decided when the winners of Groups A and B meet.

Group A features Germany, Norway, Japan and Denmark.

Group C sides are not eligible for the final but will bid for places 7-12 as the winner of Group C will play the best fourth place team from Groups A or B for seventh place.

Group C will see Hungary, Wales and first-time participant Mexico joining host Portugal.

The Mexican side, as well as the USA, will feature some of the stars set for NWSL action in the new North American professional women’s leagues first year.

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Stats from US Soccer:

The meeting with Iceland will be the fourth for the USA at the Algarve Cup, with the Americans holding a 3-0-0 record. The last match between the USA and Iceland at the Algarve Cup came in 2011 when Iceland made a surprising run to the championship game where it fell 4-2 to the Americans.

The USA will be meeting China for the seventh time at the Algarve Cup. The U.S. Women are 4-1-1 all-time against China in Portugal which includes two meetings in the championship game, a 2-1 loss in 1999 and a 2-0 win in 2003.

The group finale against Sweden will mark the first time the USA will face former head coach Pia Sundhage since she ended her five-year run in the USA to take over the head coaching job with her native country. The USA has played Sweden 12 times at the Algarve Cup with Sweden finding a bit of success in the tournament. The USA has won six games, lost two and tied four. The USA played Sweden in the championship game in 2009 and tied 1-1 in regulation before falling in penalty kicks.

The U.S. team must win its group to earn a place in the championship game, which will be played on March 13. The venues and kickoff times for all the placement matches have yet to be confirmed, but this year’s group games will take place in six small stadiums spread out along the southern coast of Portugal along with two group games between held at the 30,000-seat Stadium Algarve – built for Euro 2004 stadium — as Denmark faces Japan and Portugal meets Mexico on March 11.

Since the expansion to 12 teams 12 years ago, the Algarve Cup format has been as follows:

The winners of Groups A and B will compete for the Algarve Cup championship. The two second-place finishers in Groups A and B will play for third place while the third-place finishers in each group will play for fifth. The Group C teams will be competing for a chance to play for spots 7-12 as the winner of Group C will play the best fourth place team from Groups A or B for seventh place. The second place team in Group C will play the worst fourth place team from Groups A or B for ninth place, and the third and fourth place finishers in Group C will play each other for 11th place.

In preparation for the Algarve Cup, a new issue of “Anthem” will be available for download in the new U.S. Soccer Digital Publications app available for iPad, iPhone and Android devices. The issue will be the first Women’s National Team focused edition and will provide information on the 2013 Algarve Cup, a look back at previous editions of the tournament, as well as other features with players from the team. The app is available to download now free of charge, with Issue Two becoming available on March 5.

Additional notes:

Group A features Germany, Norway, Japan and Denmark and Group C will see Hungary, Wales and first-time participant Mexico joining host Portugal.

This is the 20th edition of the Algarve Cup.

This year will mark the 18th trip to the Algarve Cup for the U.S. Women, who have won the tournament a record eight times, including an unprecedented three straight championships from 2003-05.

Last year, the USA lost to Japan 1-0 in group play (the team’s only loss of the year) and missed the championship game for the first time in 10 years, but rebounded to defeat Sweden 4-0 in the third-place match behind Alex Morgan’s first-career hat trick and a goal from Abby Wambach, her team-leading 18th all-time in Algarve Cup play.
The USA has a 49-10-8 record all-time at the Algarve Cup and has scored 147 goals while allowing 53.

The USA will arrive in Portugal on Feb. 26 and train for a little over a week before opening the tournament against Iceland.