Cyprus Cup and Algarve Cup

Currently there are two important Women’s International tournaments running in parallel between the 4th March and the 11th March 2015 – The Cyprus Cup and The Algarve Cup. Both are annual competitions and this year will provide predictions towards how countries will fare at the FIFA World Cup in June – with sixteen of the 24 participating countries have qualified for the 2015 World Cup.

Both tournaments consist of twelve teams, split into three 4-sides groups. After the three group games, it then proceeds into a knockout stage which differs slightly between the two tournaments. The knockout stage should really be called the Placement Round, as each country play one game to decide their final finishing position.

The Cyprus Cup

The Cyprus Cup is the newer tournament, first running 2008, and originally consisted of two groups of 3. After the group games, there was one round of exhibition games where a team from Group A played another team from Group B – before progressing onto the Placement Round. The inaugural tournament was won by Canada who beat an U20 United States of America side – the American’s full team played in the Algarve Cup.

In 2009, the tournament was expanded to eight teams, split into two groups of 4 – and this format remained until 2011 when the current format of three groups of 4 was introduced. 2009 also saw the tournament expanding from inviting countries from three confederations to four. In 2012 and 2013, five confederations competed but this has since reduced back down to four.

The most successful side in the tournament’s history is Canada, who has lifted the trophy on three occasions. Their dominance is such that 2014 marked the first time that Canada failed to reach the final. England and France have both won the tournament twice – France are the current holders, although this year they are competing in the Algarve Cup.

Despite the Cup being held in Cyprus, they are yet to appear in their namesake tournament that they host.

The 2015 Groups are as follows:

Group A	WR*		Group B	WR*		Group C	WR*
Scotland	21		Australia [W]	10		Belgium	26
Canada [W]	9		England [W]	6		Czech Republic	30
Italy	14		Finland	23		Mexico [W]	25
South Korea [W]	17		Netherlands [W]	11		South Africa^	60

* WR= FIFA World Ranking as of 19th December 2014.

[W]= Qualified for the 2015 FIFA World Cup

^ = New Zealand were due to play, but withdrew. South Africa replaced them.

The Placement Phase then follows as such:

Eleventh Placed Match	A4/B4	v	C4
Ninth Placed Match	A4/B4	v	C3
Seventh Placed Match	A3	v	B3
Fifth Placed Match	A2/B2	v	C2
Third Placed Match	A2/B2	v	C1
Final	A1	v	B1

Here, A4 means the team that finishes fourth in Group A. In the Eleventh and Ninth Placed matches, and the Fifth and Third Placed Matches, it states something like A4/B4. This means the worse placed team plays in the lower position match. For example, say A4 has a worse position than B4. That means A4 plays in the Eleventh Placed Match, whilst B4 plays in the Ninth Placed Match.

The teams are ranked according to the following rules:

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. Drawing of lots

The four stadia used in the 2015 Cyprus Cup are:

• GSP Stadium – Nicosia – 22,859 Capacity
• GSZ Stadium – Larnaca – 13,032 Capacity
• Paralimni Stadium – Paralimni – 5,800 Capacity
• Ammochostos Stadium – Larnaca – 5,500 Capacity

The Algarve Cup

The Algarve Cup is the older of the two competitions, with its inaugural tournament taking place in 1994 – which was won by Norway. The hosts, Portugal, have appeared in every edition and their best finish so far has been 5th placed.

The tournament started out with two groups of 3 teams, followed by a Placement Round. In 1995, it progressed to a two 4-team group format. 1998 saw the tournament invite teams from three confederations for the first time, previously only being two.

2002 saw another change in format as the tournament expanded to twelve teams, inviting countries like England and Scotland for the first time. Apart from 2006 where only eleven countries competed, this format has remained the same to the present day.

The United States of America are the tournament’s most successful country, winning it nine times – in fact, nine out of the last fourteen editions. Norway come next, winning it four times – whilst Germany and Sweden have won it three times, with China winning the other two tournaments.

The 2015 Groups are as follows:

GROUP A	WR*		GROUP B	WR*		GROUP C	WR*
Brazil [W]	8		Iceland	20		Denmark	16
China PR [W]	13		Norway [W]	12		France [W]	3
Germany [W]	1		Switzerland [W]	19		Japan [W]	4
Sweden [W]	5		USA [W]	2		Portugal	42

* WR= FIFA World Ranking as of 19th December 2014.

[W]= Qualified for the 2015 FIFA World Cup

The Placement Phase then follows as such:

Eleventh Placed Match	Third Best 4th Placed Team	v	Second Best 4th Placed Team
Ninth Placed Match	Best 4th Placed Team	v	Third Best 3rd Placed Team
Seventh Placed Match	Second Best 3rd Placed Team	v	Best 3rd Placed Team
Fifth Placed Match	Third Best 2nd Placed Team	v	Second Best 2nd Placed Team
Third Placed Match	Best 2nd Placed Team	v	Third Best Group Winner
Final	Second Best Group Winner	v	Best Group Winner

The teams are ranked according to the following rules:

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 venues are:

• Estádio Algarve – Algarve – 30,002 Capacity
• Albufeira Municipal Stadium – Albufeira – 7,500 Capacity
• Estádio António Coimbra da Mota – Estoril – 8,000 Capacity
• Estádio Municipal Fernando Cabrita – Lagos – 4,600 Capacity
• Complexo Desportivo Belavista – Parchal – 1,500 Capacity