In-form Canada failed to properly lean on a very credible calendar year after being held to a nil-nil draw by Iceland in neutral Murcia.

Having avoided defeat in normal time across the entirety of 2024 to date, interim boss Andy Spence will surely look for the positives across what was otherwise a frustrating performance.

This takes nothing away from a very solid Iceland side under head coach Þorsteinn Halldórsson, who has guided Stelpurnar okkar up to 13th in the most recent FIFA Women’s rankings.

However, a Les Rouges side that sits sixth in the same rankings, who has posted wins against France and Colombia as recently as the summer Olympics in Paris, to go along with very credible outings against the United States, Brazil, Spain, and Germany, will likely view this as a chance missed to get back to winning ways.

Chances in the first half by Canada went begging on multiple occasions, and a late surge by Iceland in the latter minutes of the second-half nearly banked them a huge scalp of their own.

Up next for Canada is another friendly clash, this time with South Korea in four days time.

📸 Marc Atkins – 2024 Getty Images