Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Sweden are the national teams that will take part in the new edition of the Algarve Cup, the prestigious invitational tournament that will take place from 16 to 23 February in the Portuguese region of Algarve.

Almost two years after their last involvement in the tournament, the Azzurre return to southern Portugal to resume what was abruptly interrupted on 11 March 2020, when the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closing of borders between the countries forced Gama and her teammates to return to Italy via a chartered flight, bowing out after their brilliant victories against Portugal (2-1) and New Zealand (3-0) sent them into the final against Germany.

The draw made this afternoon established that Milena Bertolini's national team will have their first game on Wednesday 16 February in Lagos against Denmark, and then take on Norway on Sunday 20 February in Faro. The cup will come to an end on Wednesday 23 February: the teams that win the most points from the first two matches will compete for the trophy in the final, while the other three teams will face off in a mini triangular - each match will last 45 minutes – which will decide the placings from 3rd to 5th.

Coach Bertolini had the following to say: "It is a prestigious tournament that will give us the opportunity to understand where we are at and to work in view of the important qualification fixtures for the 2023 World Cup that’s taking place in April. We will be facing top national teams, and the matches will be difficult and very intense from a physical point of view. The girls will have the opportunity to gain experience and to see how they measure up against opponents of the same calibre as those who we will face at the European Championships. This will also allow me to make the right decisions for the future".

The United States have had the most success in the tournament with 10, followed by Norway (5), Sweden (4) and Germany (4).

The tournament schedule:

Wednesday 16 February
12:00 (13:00 CET) Denmark vs. ITALY (Estadio Municipal - Lagos)
18.30 (19.30 CET) Norway vs. Portugal (Estadio Municipal - Lagos)

Friday 18 February
17:00 (18:00 CET) Sweden vs. Denmark (Estadio Algarve - Faro)

Sunday 20 February
11:00 (12:00 CET) ITALY vs. Norway (Estadio Algarve - Faro)
17:15 (18.15 CET) Protugal vs. Sweden (Estadio Algarve - Faro)

Wednesday 23 February
11:00 (12:00 CET) Final 1st-2nd place (Estadio Municipal - Lagos)
From 10:30 until 13:00 (11.30-14 CET) Triangular 3rd-4th-5th place (Estadio Algarve - Faro)