England on form in Portugal

It was a mixed week for the four UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ Group A sides in action in the Algarve Cup, with hosts England playing well but Denmark, Sweden and Finland all suffering some disappointing defeats.

England run
WOMEN'S EURO hosts England were in Group C, meaning they could finish no higher than seventh, but stormed through their pool with three victories. Beginning with 4-0 wins against Northern Ireland and hosts Portugal, they then clinched first place by defeating Mexico 5-0, England's sixth victory in a row, their best run for 18 years.

Penalties reverse
However, that sequence ended in the seventh-place play-off as England were defeated 5-3 on penalties after a goalless draw with China. Still, manager Hope Powell was satisfied with the campaign. "It was a very good tournament experience for us," she said. "And the standard we've produced proves that we can go forward - not just for WOMEN'S EURO but into the next [FIFA Women's] World Cup and beyond." Powell's team return to action against Scotland in Tranmere on 21 April.

Finnish disappointment
England's opponents in their opening EURO game, Finland, played in one of the two championship pools but ended in tenth. A 4-1 loss to Denmark, who they meet in England, a 3-0 defeat by eventual winners the United States and 2-1 loss to France left them bottom of Group B. The Finns then fell to Mexico on penalties, a 5-4 shoot-out loss following a 1-1 draw in which Laura Kalmari had given Finland a half-time lead.

Important absentees
However, Finland were missing strikers Jessica Thorn and Heidi Kackur and goalkeeper Satu Peltonen. Coach Michael Käld said: "Naturally I'm disappointed with the results, although this tournament was very important for us in preparing for the finals in June. We will now decide which parts of our game need most work in the next few weeks." A trip to fellow EURO contenders Italy on 27 April is their next fixture.

Ljungberg loss
Sweden, without Victoria Svensson, were hoping to repeat their Algarve Cup successes of 1995 and 2001 - both of which were followed in those years by runs to the EURO final - but instead finished fourth. Their Group A campaign began with a 2-1 loss against old rivals Germany, in which Hanna Ljungberg suffered a dead leg that ruled her out of the rest of the tournament.

Sweden pipped
A 2-0 win against China followed and second place in the pool was sealed with a 1-1 draw versus Norway. Hopes of a bronze medal were dashed by in-form France, Sweden twice coming from behind only to lose 3-2.

Seger experience
Still, the competition did give coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors the chance to rotate her squad, giving each player at least two starts including Caroline Seger, who struck against Norway six days before her 20th birthday. Their next friendly is against Denmark on 30 April in Vaxjo, the same team they meet in the EURO opening game on 5 June.

Mixed form
Denmark may have begun in Portugal with a 4-1 win against Finland, but a 2-1 defeat by France and 4-0 loss against the US left them third in Group A. They then were pipped to fifth place as they went down 2-1 to Norway.

Højmose hope
Coach Poul Højmose stayed upbeat, though. "We are in the middle of a long-term process," he said. "Even though the Algarve Cup did not give us the success we were hoping for I still think we are on the right track." Denmark visit Italy on 13 April and then welcome Switzerland before their friendly with Sweden.