LAGOA, Portugal — For the past 12 years, the home team at the Algarve Cup has treated itself like an interested visitor.

Each spring, when many of the world’s best women’s soccer teams traveled to the sunny climes of this seaside region for one of their sport’s top tournaments, the players on Portugal’s team would talk excitedly about the opportunity to see some of the game’s stars. Not play against them, mind you — just watch them. After all, the 12-team event had three pools of four teams, and while Groups A and B were stocked with teams like the United States, Germany and Sweden, Group C was the Algarve’s version of a recreational league: Minnows like Ireland, Poland and Iceland — and Portugal — played one another but were prohibited, by tournament rule, from playing in the top placement games.

“We did sit in the stands sometimes to see them,” Ana Borges, a forward for Portugal, said this week. “It was an honor, of course. But that was as close as we would get.”

Now they are closer. With FIFA having expanded this summer’s Women’s World Cup to 24 teams from 16, the Algarve, which has long been the top warm-up event, has changed as well. There are still 12 teams playing games here over the next eight days, but this year all 12 are eligible to win the tournament. And, at last, smaller teams like Portugal will have their chance to compete against the giants.