FARO, Portugal: A flurry of goals at the start of the second half helped Germany to a 3-0 victory over world champion Japan in the final of the Algarve Cup on Wednesday.
Substitute Nadine Kessler's first touch was a goal from the edge of the area in the 46th minute, and Anja Mittag doubled the advantage for the European champions four minutes later by backheeling teammate Fatmire Alushi's pass into goal.
Dzsenifer Marozsan completed the rout at the Algarve Stadium against a dazed Japan in the 61st minute with a shot from 20 meters out as the German women secured their third title in the competition.
Iceland scored two first-half goals and hung on to beat Sweden 2-1 in the third-place game at the annual competition held in the south of Portugal.
Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir and Harp Thorsteinsdottir scored within a two-minute span to put Iceland in control half an hour into the match at Albufeira, before substitute Antonia Goransson gave Sweden some consolation in stoppage time.
"We played smart and contained them well," Gunnarsdottir said. "This was an extremely comfortable victory.
In other matches to close out the weeklong tournament, China beat Denmark 5-4 on penalties after their match ended in a 1-1 draw, the United States earned its first victory of the tournament with a 3-0 win against North Korea and Austria beat Portugal 2-1.
