France Claim Cyprus Cup 2014 Match Reports Glory As England Fall In Final

The Cyprus Cup 2014 Match Reports from the seventh edition of the women’s invitational tournament tell the story of France dethroning defending champions England in a dramatic final held in Nicosia on 12 March 2014.

Twelve nations from across four confederations travelled to Cyprus for a competition that doubled as high-stakes preparation for upcoming World Cup qualification campaigns, making the results far more meaningful than a standard pre-season friendly.

Cyprus Cup 2014 Match Reports: Group Stage Breakdown

The group stage ran from 5 March, with three pools of four teams each playing a round-robin format before a single finals day on 12 March determined all twelve finishing positions.

Group A was dominated from start to finish, with the group winner recording three victories from three matches, posting seven goals without conceding a single one across the opening phase.

Group B was considerably tighter, with two sides finishing level on seven points, requiring the tournament’s tiebreaker criteria to separate them ahead of the knockout rounds.

England entered the final in strong form, having beaten Italy, Finland and Canada in the group stage, with head coach Mark Sampson rotating his squad intelligently across the three fixtures.

Three changes were made from the Canada win for the final itself, with Anita Asante, Gemma Davison and Natasha Dowie coming into the starting eleven for Jordan Nobbs, Ellen White and Lianne Sanderson respectively.

Sampson’s attacking philosophy was evident even in his bench selections, with no recognised defenders among the substitutes as England pushed for an ambitious, front-foot final performance.

France Win, Canada Disappoint In Cyprus Cup 2014 Match Reports

France proved too disciplined and clinical on finals day, neutralising England’s attacking threat and converting their own opportunities with the composure of a side peaking at the right moment.

For the first time in the tournament’s history, Canada failed to reach the final, finishing in fifth place after a group stage that did not reflect the squad’s usual standards at this competition.

The tournament’s top scorer finished with four goals across the week, while several players across multiple nations hit three-goal tallies, reflecting an open and attacking competition throughout.

Sampson acknowledged post-match that results were secondary to performance in what remained a friendly tournament, with attention shifting almost immediately to the World Cup qualifier against Montenegro the following month.