2004 Algarve Cup

Tournament details
Host country	Portugal
City	Algarve
Dates	14–20 March 2004
Teams	12 (from 3 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	United States (3rd title)
Runners-up	Norway
Third place	France
Fourth place	Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played	24
Goals scored	69 (2.88 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Abby Wambach (5 goals)
Best player(s)	Shannon Boxx
Best goalkeeper	Sofia Lundgren
← 2003 2005 →

The 2004 Algarve Cup was the 11th edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place 14–20 March 2004. The USA won the tournament defeating Norway, 4-1, in the final game. ^[1]

Format

The twelve invited teams are split into three groups that played a round-robin tournament.

Since the expansion to 12 teams in 2002, the Algarve Cup format has been as follows: Groups A and B, containing the strongest ranked teams, are the only ones in contention to win the title. The group A and B winners contest the final – to win the Algarve Cup. The runners-up play for third place, and those that finish third in the groups play for fifth place. The teams in Group C played for places 7–12. The winner of Group C played the team that finished fourth in Group A or B (whichever has the better record) for seventh place. The Group C runner-up played the team who finishes last in Group A or B (with the worse record) for ninth place. The third and fourth-placed teams in Group C played for the eleventh place.

Points awarded in the group stage followed the standard formula of three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. In the case of two teams being tied on the same number of points in a group, their head-to-head result determined the higher place.

Teams

Team	FIFA Rankings (December 2003)
United States	2
Norway	3
Sweden	4
China	5
Denmark	8
France	9
Italy	10
Finland	19
Portugal (hosts)	34
Wales	56
Greece	57
Northern Ireland	77

Group stage

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
United States	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3	6
France	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6
Sweden	3	2	0	1	4	4	0	6
Denmark	3	0	0	3	0	3	−3	0

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Norway	3	2	1	0	7	1	+6	7
Italy	3	2	0	1	3	4	−1	6
China	3	1	1	1	4	1	+3	4
Finland	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	0

Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Portugal	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	6
Wales	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6
Greece	3	2	0	1	3	3	0	6
Northern Ireland	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0

Placement play-offs

Eleventh place match

Ninth place match

Seventh place match

Fifth place match

Third place match

Final

2004 Algarve Cup
United States Third title

Final standings

Rank	Team
	United States
	Norway
	France
4	Italy
5	Sweden
6	China
7	Denmark
8	Portugal
9	Finland
10	Wales
11	Greece
12	Northern Ireland

References

External links

• Algarve Cup on WomensSoccerUnited.com
• RSSSF.com history page, with links to full results
• Full results and history
• Footballzz.co.uk: Algarve Women's Football Cup 2004
• Results and Standings at Portuguese Football Federation (FPF)