Canada and Iceland were held to a scoreless draw in a women’s international soccer friendly on Friday.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women now turn their attention to South Korea (ranked 19th in the world), also on Tuesday at the Pinata Arena.
Neither side produced much offense in a game that lacked entertainment value Friday. The few shots on target were hardly a challenge.
Canada outshot Iceland 14-10 (4-4 shots on target) and had 57% possession.
Canada’s interim coach Cindy Tye was positive in the first half and welcomed the clean sheet, saying Iceland were “very physical and transitional” as advertised.
“I thought we handled it well,” she said.
City Hall | Canada and Iceland were held to a goalless draw in a women’s international friendly.
Canada had several opportunities to score in Friday’s friendly against Iceland but ended up with a 0-0 draw.
Canada had more ball and territory in the first half, with Vanessa Gilles and Jayde Riviere providing accurate passes from the Canadian backline, but that superiority did not translate into scoring opportunities.
Iceland, ranked 13th, created a good chance in the 20th minute by defending and counterattacking, but Canadian goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo caught the ball first and then collided with Carolina Leah Vjjalmsdóttir in front of the goal. D’Angelo required leg treatment following a collision late in the first half.
Canada had 55% possession in the first half and beat Iceland 5-3 (1-1 shots on target). However, as the first half progressed, Iceland came forward.
Tye said D’Angelo was dropped due to a knock.
Jessie Fleming and Olivia Smith came on in the 67th minute to provide a spark for Canada.
“You’ll see more of it in the next game,” Tye said.
Deanne Rose came off the bench and fired a shot over the Iceland crossbar in the 75th minute. Smith, 20, who plays club football for Liverpool, England, fired a shot wide in the 84th minute.
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The Canadian women’s team tied third-place Spain 1-1 in the October international break, their first appearance since being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics in early August. Iceland lost 2-1 to top-ranked United States in Austin, Texas and Nashville.
Iceland recorded a 4-1-1 record in qualifying for the 2025 UEFA Women’s Championship, finishing runners-up behind fourth-place Germany in a group that included Austria (ranked 17th) and Poland (ranked 32nd). This included a 3–0 win over away Germany, marking the first time Germany had lost by three goals in a competitive game since Brazil in the 2008 Olympic semi-finals.
Canada’s starting 11 played in a total of 772 games.
Ashley Lawrence captains first squad
Fullback Ashley Lawrence, centre-back Shelina Zadorsky and forwards Janine Beckie, Nichelle Prince and Adriana Leon have won 572 of Canada’s caps. Lawrence, earning his 140th cap, captained the team for the first time with Fleming starting on the bench.
Marie-Yasmine Alidou, who scored her first goal for Canada off the bench in the draw with Spain, earned her fourth cap as a starting midfielder. The 29-year-old plays for Benfica in Portugal.
Iceland’s starting XI included players from Italy’s Inter Milan, Germany’s Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Wolfsburg, Netherlands’ Fortuna Sittard, Norway’s Valerenga Football and Sweden’s FC Rosengaard.
Glodis Perla Viggosdottir, who also captains Bayern Munich, is the first Icelandic player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
The Canadian women’s team is 8-0-7 on the year, with three of those ties turning into penalty shootout losses to Germany (Paris Olympic quarterfinals) and top-ranked United States (SheBelieves Cup final and CONCACAF W Gold Cup). semifinal).
Another draw resulted in a penalty shootout win over Brazil (in the SheBelieves Cup semi-final).
Tai, who coaches Canada’s under-20 women’s team, will take charge of the November friendlies while Soccer Canada searches for a permanent coach.
The governing body said coach Bev Priestman would not return due to the recent independent report into the Olympic drone surveillance scandal. Priestman, head coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi have now been handed one-year suspensions by FIFA, and Lombardi has already resigned as head coach of Canadian soccer.
Canada has few veterans in Spain.
Kadeisha Buchanan, Sydney Collins, Cloe Lacasse, Evelyne Viens, Jade Rose and Quinn are injured, while Jordyn Huitema is unavailable for personal reasons.
