US women win the Algarve Cup
The U.S. Women’s National Team beat Denmark, 2-1 to win the 2008 Algarve Cup.This marked USA's sixth straight appearance in the Algarve Cup title game and its sixth Algarve Cup championship overall, winning in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and now 2008.For those among you (like me) who had not heard of the Algarve Cup till yesterday here are some Wikipedia facts.
The Algarve Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's football (soccer). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious women's football events, alongside the Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football. Currently, 12 teams are invited, with the top eight competing for the championship. The teams are divided into three groups of four — A, B and C. Group C was added in 2002 to provide second-tier teams with high-level match experience every year. The most successful teams have been the USA with six titles and Norway with four. Norway's titles all came in the early years of the tournament, while the USA have won all their titles in the 2000s, including five in six years since 2003. Sweden and China, also traditional powers in the women's game, have won two titles each, while current FIFA Women's World Cup holders Germany have won once. The USA, Norway and Germany are (so far) the only nations to win both the FIFA World Cup and the Algarve Cup.