Canada and Iceland played out a scoreless draw in Murcia, Spain on Friday, in Canada’s penultimate match of 2024.

The start of the match was fairly pedestrian, with both teams patiently building into the game and trying to find their footing. Canada were finding some joy in wide areas, though, with both winger and fullback pairings — Janine Beckie and Ashley Lawrence on the left and Jayde Riviere and Adriana Leon on the right — combining well.

It was Leon who had the first shot of the match early on, sweeping a shot wide of the left post after receiving a low cross in the box from Lawrence. Leon was the target of another cross in the 10th minute, this time from Beckie, but an Icelandic defender was able to clear the ball away. Two minutes later Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir sent a shot wide of the mark with her team’s first attempt.

There wasn’t much separating the sides in the first half. Canada had more of the ball, but struggled to make use of that possession against an pack of defenders that was compact and not willing to give them an inch. Iceland counter-attacked on a couple of occasions, but Canada’s defensive resilience was also on display and they were able to limit them to just a handful of opportunities.

One of the biggest moments of the half came in the 20th minute, when Sabrina D’Angelo collided with Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir as they both threw themselves into a challenge for the ball in front of Canada’s net. D’Angelo continued to try and shake off the knock throughout the rest of the half, but made way for Lysianne Proulx at halftime. For Proulx it was a long-awaited senior national team debut after spending the last couple of years as the third string goalkeeper.

The first shot of the second half went the way of the Canadians, with Marie-Yasmine Alidou letting one fly from outside the box, but it didn’t trouble Cecilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir in the end after taking a big deflection off the back of Leon’s head. Proulx made a huge stop a few minutes later, kicking out her leg to turn away a powerful attempt from close range off the foot of Vilhjálmsdóttir.

Olivia Smith was able to test the Iceland goalkeeper shortly after coming off the bench, hitting the target from distance, but not able to get enough power on the shot to really trouble her. Smith’s cross-goal attempt later in the half also forced a dive from Rúnarsdóttir, but it missed the net. Seconds after coming off the bench, Deanne Rose volleyed a shot from a few yards out, but she mis-hit it and her effort soared high over the bar.

Jónsdóttir fired a shot at Proulx’s net in the 78th minute, trying to catch the Canadians flat-footed from distance, but her attempt went just high and wide of the target. That sparked a bit more energy into Iceland, who pushed harder for a winner as the clock ticked closer toward the final whistle, but one would never come.

Neither side was able to find a breakthrough, and the match ended 0-0. For Iceland, it was the first time they were held off the scoresheet in over a year, but they still looked much happier than the Canadians did after the final whistle. The second half had more shots than the first from both sides, but nobody hit top gear and took control of the game.

Canada turn their attention next to South Korea, who they will play at the same stadium on Tuesday.

🎥: Canada🇨🇦(0) – (0) Iceland🇮🇸#CANISL #CANWNT pic.twitter.com/avhgBeuRAq

— CANWNT (@CANWNT) November 29, 2024