FOX Sports 1 Presents Prestigious Women’s Soccer Tournaments
The Algarve Cup, held annually in southern Portugal, is one of the most prestigious and longest-running women’s international soccer events, and for the first time ever, matches are being televised widely in the United States on ad-supported basic cable television. FOX Sports 1 has unprecedented live coverage of two U.S. Women’s National Team Group B matches, plus the USA’s placement match on March 11. Previously, Algarve Cup games were available in the U.S. on pay-per-view or, in 2013, on delay via FOX Soccer Plus.
The USWNT, the most successful team in Algarve Cup history with nine titles in 19 appearances at the tournament, faced Norway, the third-most successful team with three Algarve crowns. They overcame a first-half deficit and defeated Norway 2-1.
SoccerToday New Editor Diane Scavuzzo’s recap of today’s game:
The Algarve Cup is often viewed as a important preparation and warm-up competition for in the Women’s World Cup, which starts this June in Canada. US National Team Head Coach Jill Ellis was pleased with her team’s performance.
USA’s Carli Lloyd starred on the field today as she scored two glorious goals in the second-half to lead the United States to a 2-1 victory over Norway for their opening match at the 2015 Algarve Cup.
Ada Hegerberg with an assist from Kristine Minde scored the first goal for Norway in the 43rd minute. U.S. famed goalkeeper Hope Solo nearly stopped the ball from finding the back of the net – she got a glove on the ball, but the deflection was not enough as it clipped the crossbar and crossed the goal line for Norway to take the lead in the first half.
Then the USA sprung into action in the second half. Christen Press earned the assist for Lloyd’s first goal, which was scored in the 55th minute of the match. Lloyd buried her second goal in the 62nd minute – a penalty kick to win the match.
Milestone Watch:
- Abby Wambach made her 235th appearance and ranks sixth on the all-time WNT list, four games behind fifth-place Joy Fawcett (239 games from 1987-2004).
- Defender Lori Chalupny and midfielder Megan Rapinoe earned their 97th-career caps. They are three appearances away from hitting the century mark, which 30 other WNT players have reached.
- Goalkeeper Hope Solo earned her first win of the year and 125th of her career. She trails only Briana Scurry (133) on the all-time list.
The USA then takes on Switzerland, which plays in its first Women’s World Cup™ this summer, on Friday, March 6 (12:00 PM ET). Kickoff is at 12 p.m. ET at Vila Real de Santo Antonio. The USA’s placement match is set for Wednesday, March 11 (1:00 PM ET). Digitally, all games are available on tablets and mobile devices via the FOX Sports GO app and online at www.FOXSportsGO.com.
“This tournament is a great tune-up for the world’s best teams as the Women’s World Cup approaches,” said FIFA World Cup on FOX Executive Producer David Neal. “Six of the world’s top-10 ranked teams are in this year’s Algarve Cup, and we’re excited to showcase them and deliver our viewers more important women’s soccer.”
FOX Sports 1’s coverage begins with a 30-minute pregame show prior to each match, followed by halftime and postgame coverage anchored by Rob Stone and Kate Abdo from the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles. A rotating group of former National Team players, including retired USWNT stars Leslie Osborne and Angela Hucles, U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas and legendary 1999 Women’s World Cup winning coach Tony DiCicco, serve as analysts alongside Stone or Abdo for each match on FOX Sports1.
John Strong calls the first two matches alongside former USWNT player Danielle Slaton. JP Dellacamera provides play-by-play commentary for the USWNT placement match with retired USWNT defender Cat Whitehill and DiCicco offering analysis. The complete schedule and broadcaster assignments appear below.
The Algarve Cup, featuring 12 women’s national teams, has been hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation since 1994. The majority of the games are played at small venues across the Algarve region of Portugal with several matches at the 30,000-seat Algarve Stadium.
“This is the worst case scenario for the USA because they are playing the best team from every pot,” said Legendary 1999 USWNT head coach Tony DiCicco.
The USA also faces Iceland in its final group match on Monday, March 9, which due to inadequate lighting at the Municipal Stadium in Lagos, is not able to be televised. Fans can follow the action on Twitter @FOXSoccer and @USSoccer_WNT. Following group play, the teams are placed into three groups and seeded into 11th-place to first-place matches in the final round. The Algarve Cup is the last major international tournament women’s national teams play in this year before the FIFA Women’s World Cup this June.
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