The Scotland Women’s squad will fly out to Nicosia next month to compete in the 2015 Cyprus Cup, an annual invitational tournament involving 12 teams from around the world.

Anna Signeul’s team have been drawn in Group A alongside Canada, Italy and the Republic of Korea. They’ll play their first game against three-time winners Canada on Wednesday 4 March at the GSP Stadium, Nicosia.

 As founding members Scotland have been involved in every Cyprus Cup since its introduction in 2008. Here’s all you need to know about The 2015 Cyprus Cup…

Format

The cup is split into two separate parts. The first phase sees three groups of four compete in a round-robin format and takes places between the 4th and 9th of March. Teams in Group A and Group B are the higher ranked sides, while Group C consists of lower-ranked teams.

Once final group positions are confirmed, the teams go into ‘Finals Day’ on March 11. All twelve teams play in one day to determine their final cup positions, culminating in a final between the winners of Group A and Group B to name the overall cup winners.

Scotland’s Opponents

Canada

Preperations for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada are well underway and the hosts will be eager to prove their credentials in Cyprus. They have plenty of pedigree in the competition (winners in 2008, 2010 and 2011) but will want to improve on last year’s fifth place finish – the first time ever Canada have finished outside the top two places.

Italy

The Italians have a mixed history in the tournament since making their debut in 2010. They finished 8th last year but clinched 3rd place in the 2012 Cyprus Cup thanks to a memorable 3-1 win over England in Paralimni. Head coach Antonio Cabrini will be keen to add a Cyprus Cup win onto his impressive CV – whilst a Juventus player in the 1980’s he won every UEFA club competition and six Serie A titles.

Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea beat Scotland on penalties during last year’s tournament to clinch 3rd place and deny them their highest ever finish in the Cyprus Cup. 2015 will be their first time competing outside the lower ranked Group C. One to watch will be 23-year old striker Ji So-Yun who plays for Chelsea Ladies and was voted WSL Player’s Player of the Year in 2014.

Scotland's 2015 Cyprus Cup Group A fixtures:

SCOTLAND vs Canada - Wednesday 4th March - 17:30 kick-off - Nicosia

Italy vs SCOTLAND - Friday 6th March - 17:30 kick-off - Larnaca

SCOTLAND vs Republic of Korea - Monday 9th March - 14:30 kick-off - Larnaca

Final’s Day – Wednesday 11th March – 11:00 to 18:00 - Various