U.S. Beats China, Wins Algarve Cup
Two goals in a five-minute span by Shannon MacMillan and Mia Hamm earned the U.S. women’s national team a 2-0 victory over China on Thursday in the championship game of the Algarve Cup in Loule, Portugal.
It was only the second time in eight attempts that the United States has won the tournament, which annually features the top women’s teams in the world.
“Tonight’s performance from start to finish was phenomenal,” said U.S. Coach April Heinrichs, who also coached the U.S. to the title in 2000. “Every player was tied into our tactical scheme and was committed to playing the way the coaching staff asked them to play.
“Every player was allowed to be a personality within our system and they absolutely stepped up. We played a different system. We wanted to sit back in a low-pressure style and explode out of that.”
Employing a 4-5-1 formation, with Hamm as the solitary forward and MacMillan and Kristine Lilly raiding down the wings, the U.S. took the lead in the 52nd minute when Aly Wagner sent Hamm free one-on-one against Chinese goalkeeper Zhao Yan.
Zhao got a hand on Hamm’s shot, but the ball rolled free and MacMillan, following up the shot, stuck it into the net.
Four minutes later, MacMillan passed to Hamm, who this time drove the ball in off the left post for her 138th international goal, extending her world record.
“It took some of the spirit out China, but we never expected them to give up and they didn’t,” Hamm said.
The victory, behind goalkeeper Briana Scurry’s 60th shutout, improved the U.S. record against the Chinese to 13-8-9 and made up for a 2-1 loss to China in the 1999 Algarve Cup final.
Norway edged France, 1-0, on Dagny Mellgren’s third goal of the 12-nation tournament to claim third place, Sweden took fifth with a 5-0 win over Finland and Canada finished seventh as Christine Sinclair scored a hat trick in a 7-1 demolition of Greece.
UEFA Cup
A disastrous week for English Premier League teams continued Thursday when Liverpool was beaten, 2-0, at home by Celtic of Scotland and knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
Coach Gerard Houllier’s team, which had tied the first game, 1-1, in Glasgow, lost on goals by Alan Thompson and John Hartson.
Liverpool’s loss came one day after Newcastle United and Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League and two days after Manchester United was beaten in the Champions League, although it did advance.
Also reaching the final four of the UEFA Cup on Thursday was runaway Portuguese league leader FC Porto, which beat Panathinaikos, 2-0, in Greece on two goals by Brazilian striker Derlei to advance, 2-1 on aggregate.
Lazio edged Besiktas, 2-1, in Turkey, where Stefano Fiore and Lucas Castroman provided early goals to send the Italians through, 3-1 on aggregate.
Boavista gave Portugal two teams in the semifinals when it shut out Malaga, 1-0, on Luiz Claudio’s goal, to tie the series, 1-1 on aggregate, and then prevailed, 4-1 on penalty kicks.
Quick Passes
Former FIFA world player of the year Ruud Gullitt of the Netherlands accepted an offer to become coach of the Dutch under-20 national team.... Juventus defender Ciro Ferrara, 36, agreed to a contract that will keep the veteran Italian international with the Turin club for another year.... U.S. World Cup striker Brian McBride, who has been on loan with Everton in England, will return to the Columbus Crew today, thereby missing Everton’s game against Arsenal on Sunday but being available for the Crew’s CONCACAF Champions Cup game against Deportivo Arabe Unido (DAU) of Panama the same day. The Crew lost the first game in the total-goals series, 2-1, in Panama.
