2009 Algarve Cup Schedule and Venues Finalized

The schedule, kickoff times and venues for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2009 Algarve Cup have been confirmed, with the two-time defending Algarve champions opening up against Denmark on March 4 at Municipal Stadium in Lagos. Kickoff time is noon local and 7 a.m. ET. Fans can follow all the U.S. matches on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

CHICAGO (Feb. 18, 2009) – The schedule, kickoff times and venues for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2009 Algarve Cup have been confirmed, with the two-time defending Algarve champions opening up against Denmark on March 4 at Municipal Stadium in Lagos. Kickoff time is noon local and 7 a.m. ET. Fans can follow all the U.S. matches on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

The USA’s other Group B matches will be played on March 6 in Ferreiras against Iceland (3 p.m. local / 10 a.m. ET) and on March 9 in Albufeira against Norway (3 p.m. local / 11 a.m. ET). Pia Sundhage named an 18-player roster for the Algarve Cup, which will travel to Portugal on Wednesday, Feb. 25, for their participation in the prestigious event.

The U.S. must win its group to earn a place in the championship game, which will be played at the Estadio Algarve in Faro, a 30,000-seat venue built for the 2004 European Championships. The third-place match will also be played at the venue. Aside from the final and third-place games, the rest of the matches will be held in small stadiums spread out along the southern coast of Portugal.

The venues for the other placement games (for eleventh, ninth, seventh and fifth place) will be determined by which placement match Portugal qualifies for, as the hosts are scheduled to play in Lagos for their final game no matter where they finishes in Group C.

Since the expansion from eight to 12 teams eight years ago, the Algarve Cup format has been as follows: The teams in Group A and B will compete for the title as the group winners will play in the championship game on Wednesday, March 11. The two second-place finishers in Groups A and B will play for third place while the third-place finishers 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.

16th Annual Algarve Cup
The Algarve, Portugal

Group A
Germany, Sweden, China, Finland

Group A Schedule

Date	Match	Venue; City	Kickoff (Local/ET)
March 4	Germany vs. Finland	Estádio Municipal; Albufeira	1:15 p.m. / 8:15 a.m.
	China vs. Sweden	Estádio Municipal; Lagos	3 p.m. / 10 a.m.
March 6	Sweden vs. Finland	Estádio Municipal; Lagos	12 p.m. / 7 a.m.
	Germany vs. China	Estádio Municipal; Albufeira	1:15 p.m. / 8:15 a.m.
March 9	Finland vs. China	Estádio Municipal; VR de SA	1:15 p.m. / 9:15 a.m.
	Sweden vs. Germany	Estádio Algarve; Faro	1:15 p.m. / 9:15 a.m.

Group B
USA, Norway, Demark, Iceland

Group B Schedule

Date	Match	Venue; City	Kickoff (Local/ET)
March 4	USA vs. Denmark	Estádio Municipal; Lagos	12 p.m. / 7 a.m.
	Norway vs. Iceland	Estádio José Arcano; Olhão	3 p.m. / 10 a.m.
March 6	USA vs. Iceland	Parque Desportiva da Nora; Ferreiras	3 p.m. / 10 a.m.
	Denmark vs. Norway	Estádio Municipal; Lagos	3 p.m. / 10 a.m.
March 9	Norway vs. USA	Estádio Municipal; Albufeira	3 p.m. / 11 a.m.
	Iceland vs. Denmark	Parque Desportiva da Nora; Ferreiras	3 p.m. / 11 a.m.

Group C
Portugal, Poland, Wales, Austria

Group C Schedule

Date	Match	Venue; City	Kickoff (Local/ET)
March 4	Austria vs. Wales	Estádio de Restina; Alvor	3 p.m. / 10 a.m.
	Poland vs. Portugal	Estádio Municipal; Albufeira	5:45 p.m. / 12:45 p.m.
March 6	Austria vs. Poland	Estádio Municipal; VR de SA	3 p.m. / 10 a.m.
	Portugal vs. Wales	Estádio Municipal; Albufeira	5:45 p.m. / 12:45 p.m.
March 9	Portugal vs. Austria	Estádio Algarve; Faro	5:45 p.m. / 1:45 p.m.
	Poland vs. Wales	Estádio Municipal; Loulé	5:45 p.m. / 1:45 p.m.

Placement Matches

Date	Match	Venue; City	Kickoff (Local/ET)
March 11	Match TBD	Hotel Montechoro Fields; Albufeira	10:30 a.m. / 6:30 a.m.
	Match TBD	Estádio José Arcano; Olhão	10:30 a.m. / 6:30 a.m.
	Match TBD	Estádio Municipal; Loulé	10:30 a.m. / 6:30 a.m.
	3rd Place Match	Estádio Algarve; Faro	10:30 a.m. / 6:30 a.m.
	Portugal Placement Match	Estádio Municipal; Lagos	11:30 a.m. / 7:30 a.m.
	Championship	Estádio Algarve; Faro	1:15 p.m. / 9:15 a.m.