PREVIEW – The Canada v Iceland game will be the third-ever meeting between the two national teams in a competitive match. It has been a long time since both teams met each other, so both teams are most likely unfamiliar with each other’s strengths or weaknesses heading into Friday’s game at the San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia.
Everything is done via a W-T-L format with the last five games. Loses or wins in penalty kicks and/or overtime counts as draws.
Note: The FIFA rankings of the two teams can be seen below.
Canada v Iceland: Third-Ever Meeting Between Both Teams
Canada (3-2-0, Ranked Sixth in the World)
Canada was moments away from getting a win against the defending champions, Spain, on the road. However, Cristina Martin-Prieto of Spain scored in the 89 minute to tie the game against Canada. Still, Canada earned a big result on the road and Marie-Yasmine Alidou of Benfica scored her first-ever national team goal for the CANWNT. This is what Alidou had to say about scoring that goal (Source: Canadian Soccer Daily staff):
“It feels amazing. I’m really happy for that first goal,” Alidou said after the match. “It means the world to me.”
A lot of credit also needs to be given to Evelyne Viens, who created the turnover in Canada’s favour and set-up Alidou, who placed the ball perfectly into the back of the net. After also scoring in the Olympics against New Zealand, Viens is a player who has recently been making a big impact on the national team. It is unfortunate that she will not be able to play against both Iceland and Korea Republic (South Korea).
Also, of course, there is the drone scandal from the Olympics reared its ugly head again as Canada’s head coach, Beverly Priestman was fired, along with assistant coach, Jasmine Mander and analyst, Joseph Lombardi (Source: Anne M. Peterson of The Associated Press).
Iceland (2-1-2, Ranked 13th in the World)
Before the two losses against the U.S. last month, Iceland (Stelpurnar okkar (Our Girls)) was on a roll, as they are playing well right now in the UEFA Nations League. They beat Denmark 2-1 and then in the promotion-relegation playoff, Iceland got the better of Serbia thanks to a 2-1 win on the road against Serbia. As a result, they will play in the 2025 UEFA Women’s Nations League A Group A 2 League with Norway, Switzerland, and European powerhouses, Spain.
As a result of this, Iceland’s head coach, Thorsteinn Halldórsson’s contract has been extended to “until at least 2026” with “clauses in connection with the 2027 World Cup,” (Source: Brendan Joseph of SB Nation).
Players to Watch Out for With Canada
READ MORE: CANWNT Roster Reveal Analysis: Kadeisha Buchanan Injured
With Canada, with the many injuries they have, are missing some notable players on their roster such as Kadeisha Buchanan and Viens.
One newer player, that people should familiar themselves with is Clarissa Larisey. Larisey made the roster after it was confirmed that Viens got injured. Larisey has a positive mindset and would perfectly fit into the culture of the CANWNT.
To know what her skillsets are, this is what Director of Football of the women’s team, Lundström, said about the win (Source: EDITOR of The Celtic Star):
“She is primarily a deep player with good speed, but also good in one-on-one situations. She adds a new dimension to our offensive game. We have followed her for a long time, and she fits very well into our way of playing and into our profile. I look forward to seeing her on the pitch,” says Christian Lundström said.
The video seen above shows Larisey talking about the lone goal she scored for the national team. Overall, Larisey has made ten appearances for the national team.
There is also Janine Beckie, who Icelandic soccer fans might know as scoring the game-winning goal against them for Canada in 2016. There is high praise from former CANWNT head coach, John Herdman, had for Janine Beckie back in 2016:
“From a technical perspective, Beckie is the closest thing I’ve seen to Sinclair in terms of her timing and her movements, the quality and texture of her passing, and the quality of her touch. She’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Sinclair as a player,” Herdman told Sportsnet in a recent one-on-one chat.
Beckie has shown a great ability to create scoring chances for her teammates. She can also score on her own including scoring the lone goal in a 1-1 draw against England in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup competition. In total, Beckie has made 107 appearances for her national team and has scored 36 goals in those games.
One Big Player to Watch for Iceland
For Iceland, a player to watch out for is Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir. She is the defender for Bayern Munich and was recently nominated for the Ballon d’Or Féminin award this year. This is what the head coach, Alexander Strauss, said about Perla Viggósdóttir when the contract extension happened to 2026:
Perla Viggósdóttir has been with the national team of Iceland since 2012 and has scored ten goals with the national team. This included her scoring the game-tying goal against Austria this year on May 31 in the 2023–24 UEFA Women’s Nations League game and scored the game-winning goal on September 22 against Wales in the 2023-24 UEFA Women’s Nations League competition.
How To Watch the Game on Friday and Head-to-Head Matchups
READ MORE: Desiree Scott: CANWNT Player Profile of “The Destroyer”
The CANWNT and Iceland have only faced each other twice. The last time they met was 2019, when both teams drew in a scoreless draw in the 2019 Algarve Cup. Canada defeated Iceland in the first-ever encounter against Iceland back in 2016 thanks to a game-winning goal scored by Beckie.
The game will kickoff at 1:00pm ET in San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia at the Pinatar Arena.
Women’s National Team Training
09 February 2023 – Orlando, FL, USA
Photo Credit: Canada Soccer (Flickr Account) by Daniela Porcelli of a Kailen Sheridan Headshot.
