The lack of finishing that has recently plagued the veteran U.S. national team players has also hit the younger team. In the Algarve Cup match that determined the finalist from and champion of Group A, a full-strength Sweden squad shut out the U.S. youngsters, 2-0, March 15 in Albufeira, Portugal. April Heinrichs’ new-look U.S. women had almost as many shots as Sweden — 9-10 — had 14 corner kicks and had good chances to score but didn’t. The USA, which finished third in Group A, will now face Norway in the match for fifth place as China edged the Olympic champions on goal difference in Group B, relegating the Norwegians to third place in that group. Sweden will face surprise Denmark for the championship in a replay of the 1995 Algarve Cup final, won by Sweden. The USA-Norway match kicks off on Saturday, March 17, in Quarteira at 10 a.m. local (5 a.m. ET). Sweden head coach Marika Lyfors took no chances to secure Sweden a place in its third Algarve Cup final, but first since 1996, when she started all of her regulars against a U.S. team that averaged only 19 years of age. Like in all three of its Algarve Cup games, the USA was the aggressor early on and created enough chances to win, as the American midfield of Devvyn Hawkins, Mary-Frances Monroe and Aleisha Cramer outplayed its Swedish counterparts on both sides of the ball. The USA won the majority of air battles and tackles in the middle of the field, taking the game to the Swedes for most of the first half while using some quality ball possession to free players on the flanks. In just the fifth minute, the USA had a golden chance for a quick start as Catherine Reddick bent a free-kick into the penalty area from the left side, but as has been the case during the entire tournament, the USA could not convert, and Laura Schott put her header wide of the goal. Sweden only had two dangerous attacks in the first 30 minutes, but U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo defused both, snagging a cross with a full-out dive and then punching another away. In the 21st minute, Christie Welsh collected a long ball on her chest and flicked a pass through to the streaking Rigamat, but Swedish goalkeeper Caroline Jonsson beat her to the ball and smothered. In the 38th minute, a great U.S. combination in midfield put Welsh behind the defense with a through ball over the top. She beat Jonsson to ball, but lifted her shot weakly to the right of the goal. Sweden did not get off a shot until the 39th minute when Hanna Ljungberg ran onto a cross from the left flank and cracked a blistering volley that pulled a spectacular reaction save from Solo. But neither the U.S. defense nor Solo could recover in time to prevent Tina Nordlund from pouncing on the rebound and finishing from four yards out. The USA had a 7-3 advantage in corner-kicks at halftime, which would stretch to 14-7 for the match, but could not maintain its dominance of the Swedes in the second half. “We did play very well for 45 minutes,” said Jena Kluegel, who has put in three solid games at left outside back. “What we’ve struggled with is playing together for an entire game, but that’s going to be the case for any young team. Sweden was far and away the best of the three teams we’ve played so far and they aren’t going to back down ever.” Sweden came out with renewed vigor in the second half and fired three shots in the first three minutes. The USA repelled the barrage and worked itself back into the game after about 15 minutes, playing even with the Swedes for the remainder of the match. In the 54th minute, Stephanie Rigamat spun around her defender after letting a throw-in run across her body, then cut hard toward goal, only to loft a soft cross into the hands of Jonsson. In the 66th minute, a quickly taken free-kick by Cramer put Rigamat in on the right flank, but her driven cross was headed over the end line for a corner kick. Led by Cramer, the U.S. captain, and Monroe, the United States consistently puts together quality attacks, but could not find the timing and sophistication on crosses or in their shooting to put a ball in the net. The always rambunctious Ljungberg had one of Sweden’s best chances in the 70th minute when she busted through the U.S. defense, but with Anna Kraus and Amy Steadman in tow, she shot wide left. Two minutes later, Swedish captain Malin Andersson hit a thundering 30-yard free-kick that smacked the cross bar and bounced down into the USA’s penalty area. Once again, Sweden was quicker to react than the inexperienced U.S. defense, and Ljungberg gathered herself before lashing a low, driven shot into the left corner from 12 yards out. Solo, who played a quality match in her seventh cap, had no chance on either goal. The USA kept attacking, but a tough and organized Swedish defense was not going to make a mistake. The ball has not bounced the USA’s way in the tournament and that was evident in the 86th minute, when Reddick’s long cross from deep on the right sideline sailed towards the goal and caught Jonsson back-peddling, only to hit the cross bar and bounce away. “It’s just so frustrating to lose, especially when we’ve played well enough to win, but playing teams like Sweden is what makes us better because they play good soccer,” added Kluegel. “It’s tough, but we have to look at the big picture, and for this group of players, that’s trying to get enough experience to be able to make an impact on the 2003 Women’s World Cup team.” In the other Group A game, Canada barely edged host Portugal, 2-1, getting its first score on an own goal before notching the winner seven minutes from time. In Group B, Denmark, China and Norway all finished with six points, as Denmark beat China, China beat Norway and Norway beat Denmark, and all three beat up on Finland, but the Danes won the group with a plus-6 goal difference to China’s plus-4 and Norway’s plus-3. The USA now faces Norway for the first time since the historic Olympic gold medal game won by the Scandinavians in sudden death overtime at the Sydney Football Stadium last September. This is the first time the USA has played in a fifth place match at the Algarve Cup in seven trips to the tournament. Algarve Cup March 15 in Albufeira, Portugal Sweden 2 United States 0. Goals: Tina Nordlund 39, Hanna Ljungberg 72. USA — 18-Hope Solo, 5-Ally Marquand (19-Amy Steadman, 68), 3-Anna Kraus, 4-Catherine Reddick, 2-Jena Kluegel, 15-Devvyn Hawkins (10-Joanna Lohman, 75), 17-Aleisha Cramer — Capt., 11-Mary-Frances Monroe (13-Lori Chalupny, 68), 9-Laura Schott (16-Kristen Weiss, 62), 20-Stephanie Rigamat, 12-Christie Welsh (8-Alyssa Ramsey, 66). Sweden — 1-Caroline Jonsson, 2-Karoline Westberg, 3-Jane Tornquist, 4-Hanna Marklund, 6-Malin Mostrom (15-Therese Sjogran, 75), 7-Sara Larsson (18-Karolina Rinman, 73), 8-Tina Nordlund, 9-Malin Andersson, 11-Victoria Svensson, 10-Hanna Ljungberg (17-Marit Bjorstedt, 83), 16-Elin Flyborg (14-Therese Lundin, 57). Misconduct Summary: USA — Devvyn Hawkins (caution) 48. Officials: Referee: Bente Skogvang (Norway). Asst. Referee: Sergio LaCroix (Portugal). Asst. Referee: Nuno Filipe (Portugal). Attendance: 150. Final Group Standings Group A
| Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | P |
| Sweden | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 9 |
| Canada | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 |
| USA | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| Portugal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 0 |
| Sunday, March 11 | Tuesday, March 13 | Thursday, March 15 |
| Canada 3, USA 0 | Sweden 5, Canada 2 | Sweden 2, USA 0 |
| Sweden 4, Portugal 1 | USA 2, Portugal 0 | Canada 2, Portugal 1 |
Group B | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | P |
| Denmark | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 6 |
| China | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 |
| Norway | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
| Finland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14 | -13 | 0 |
| Sunday, March 11 | Tuesday, March 13 | Thursday, March 15 |
| Denmark 2, China 1 | Denmark 6, Finland 0 | China 3, Finland 0 |
| Norway 5, Finland 1 | China 2, Norway 0 | Norway 1, Denmark 0 |
Placement Games (Saturday, March 17) 7th Place — Portugal vs. Finland in Montechoro.
5th Place — USA vs. Norway in Quarteira. 3rd Place — Canada vs. China in Faro. 1st Place — Sweden vs. Denmark in Loul.
Leading Scorers Player (Team) Goals Hanna Ljungberg (Sweden) 5 Christine Sinclair (Canada) 3 Gitte Krogh (Denmark) 3 Charmaine Hooper (Canada) 2 Dagny Mellgren (Norway) 2 Linda Ormen (Norway) 2 Elin Flyborg (Sweden) 2 Breanna Boyd (Canada) 1 Maria Joao Xavier (Portugal) 1 Edite Fernandes (Portugal) 1 Malin Mostrom (Sweden) 1 Victoria Svensson (Sweden) 1 Linda Fagerstrom (Sweden) 1 Tina Nordlund (Sweden) 1 Heidi Kackur (Finland) 1 Zhao Lihong (China) 1 Bai Lili (China) 1 Pu Wei* (China) 1 Liu Ying (China) 1 Pan Lina (China) 1 Lie Jie (China) 1 Nadia Kjaeldgaard (Denmark) 1 Mette Jokumsen* (Denmark) 1 Merete Pedersen (Denmark) 1 Katrine Pedersen (Denmark) 1 Cathrine Sorensen (Denmark) 1 Margunn Haugenes (Norway) 1 Ragnhild Gulbrandsen (Norway) 1 Christie Welsh (USA) 1 Stephanie Rigamat (USA) 1 Own Goal (Canada) 1 *Corrected goalscorers.
