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Both tournaments have had some major surprises on tap with thanks to the likes of Iceland, the Netherlands and Scotland.

First off, the USWNT manhandled Finland, essentially securing victory after just 13 minutes. In the 8′, Shannon Boxx steered a header into the back of the net. Five minutes later, Carli Lloyd initiated a passing sequence that featured a fantastic show of skill from Tobin Heath and ended in a Lloyd goal. As the U.S. Soccer press release states, Heath “fak[ed] out a defender so badly that she fell to the ground”.

Alex Morgan made her presence known just short of halftime as she chested down a pass dispatched by Ali Krieger and let her left foot do the rest. Morgan then notched her second goal of the game after powering home a shot on her fourth touch of the ball.

From the sound of it, Tobin Heath had a terrific game on the left flank and Carli Lloyd bossed the center of midfield. She was named Woman of the Match – naturally.

You can piece together the highlights here. Morgan’s first goal is a real gem.

Amy Rodriguez and Megan Rapinoe never left the bench and Wambach made her third consecutive substitute appearance.

The USWNT will meet surprise packages Iceland in the Algarve Cup final on Wednesday. (Here’s a piece following the USWNT’s crucial victory against Norway on the The New York Times’ Goal blog.)

Iceland finish atop Group A with all nine points and are the only team aside from the USWNT to finish the group stage with a 100% record. The team’s run to the final has been nothing short of amazing. Iceland fought back from going a goal down against Sweden and won 2-1. They then defeated China with the same score line before squeeking past Denmark 1-0 today. It’s a terrific display from a team that mustered just a single goal in the group stage of Euro 2009.

Meanwhile, Canada will meet Holland in the Cyprus Cup final on Wednesday as well. Canada earned a 2-0 win over an England side still clearly shaken from its implosion against Scotland (more FA match report gloominess here) . The Netherlands steered clear of such an implosion and tonked Switzerland 6-0. Kirsten Van Der Van scored a hat-trick while Chantel de Ridder contributed the other two goals. The final should be nothing less than a cracking game contested by two technically savvy, confident sides.

Plucky Scotland will come up against France, who dismantled New Zealand 5-2. The Football Ferns conceded three costly goals in the second half, effectively handing France the win. Scotland had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Italy after Kim Little had a penalty kick saved. The team could finish the tournament in third place which would be a remarkable achievement.

The Scots finish above England in Group A which means England will face South Korea on the last match day. South Korea won Group D after capturing a narrow 2-1 win over Russia.

That result moved South Korea over Mexico, who did their part by defeating Northern Ireland 3-1. Mexico will meet New Zealand in a preview of the teams’ match-up in Group B of the Women’s World Cup.

Italy will meet Russia while bottom-feeders Switzerland will play Northern Ireland.

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• Soccer
• Sports
• WNT
• Europe/Intl

This post is related to events on our Calendar:

• Algarve Cup
• Cyprus Cup

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