Portugal women secure impressive victory over world giants

Portugal defeated Sweden, ranked 9th in the FIFA World Rankings, 2-1 in the Algarve Cup to put themselves on the brink of qualification to the next round.

Portugal, by contrast, are ranked 31st in the world, but have continued to go from strength to strength in the women's game.

Portugal, despite hosting the annual competition every year since its inception in 1994, had never made it into the top 4 of the 12-team competition in 25 attempts until last year, when they finished 3rd overall, beating Australia in the third-fourth playoff.

And this season, they could emulate those heroics, with victory over Sweden meaning they now require just a point against Switzerland in their next game to confirm qualification to the final four.

Portugal initially fell behind, but after two second half goals from star players Diana Silva and Claudia Neto, Portugal completed a late upset to put themselves in the driving seat in group D.