KEY TAKEAWAYS: CanMNT shows good resilience, but untimely mistakes prove costly in 2-2 draw vs. Iceland

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The CanMNT kicked off their first of four pre-World Cup friendlies on Saturday, as they took on Iceland at BMO Field in Toronto. 

Yet, what was hoped to be a straightforward game for Canada ended up being anything but that, as they had to battle from behind to earn a 2-2 draw in an action-packed game, one that also featured a late red card to Canadian winger Tajon Buchanan. 

They’ll be pleased with the resilience they showed to snatch a result, no doubt, even if they’ll rue a slow start, one that left them unable to find a win - leaving them to have a third straight home game without a victory. 

At the same time, the beauty of friendlies like this one is that they can offer valuable learning lessons for a Canadian team that will hope to avoid suffering a similar fate at this summer’s World Cup - it’s a lot better to suffer adversity now than in June. 

For a Canadian team that was missing several key regulars due to injuries and suspensions, you can live with these learning lessons, even if they’ll feel that they still could’ve and should’ve won without them. 

With that in mind, here are some KEY takeaways from this one. 

Little errors pile up for Canada:

Given his form lately for Real Sociedad, it was hardly that surprising to see Iceland’s Orri Óskarsson score a brace in this game, as he carefully slotted away two beautiful finishes to put his side up 2-0 inside the first 21 minutes of this game. 

Having scored four goals in limited minutes for Sociedad since the start of 2026, the Iceland forward, who had also scored seven goals in 16 Iceland caps before this game, has proven to be more than capable of finishing any chances that fall for him. 

Because of that, it’ll frustrate Canada massively that they gifted the forward with those two opportunities that he scored from, as they made life a lot easier for him than they would’ve hoped to on the day. 

On the first goal, Kamal Miller had a moment he’ll soon want to forget, as he severely underhit what had looked to be a simple backpass towards goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, gifting Óskarsson with a breakaway that he’d easily slot away.

GOAL🇮🇸

Iceland have taken an early lead over the #CanMNT, as Orri Óskarsson capitalizes on a big mistake from Kamal Miller with a cool finish on a breakaway

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer and TSN pic.twitter.com/TOfUWenvTo

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Then, on the second goal, there was a comedy of errors from the Canadian backline before the goal, as Niko Sigur was unable to win a duel high up the pitch, while Miller and Joel Waterman, Canada’s centre backs on the day, were too slow in reacting to Óskarsson’s run in behind on the through ball from Mikael Egill Ellertsson shortly afterwards. 

GOAL🇮🇸🇮🇸

Orri Óskarsson has his brace, as he carves through the #CanMNT backline and fires one home to put Iceland up 2-0 early at BMO Field

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer and TSN pic.twitter.com/DxcNJLDwpd

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Óskarsson did extremely well to finish the way he did on both goals, no doubt, but he’ll feel fortunate that the chances fell to him the way they did, as Canada proved to be their own biggest enemy defensively early in the game. 

Yet, that was the theme of this match - Canada ended up tripping over themselves at a few critical junctures. 

What did Jesse Marsch make of the error that led to Iceland's first goal against the #CanMNT? 🤔

🗣️ "We want to make mistakes playing forward, not mistakes playing backwards." pic.twitter.com/VfhMWWvKNH

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Having done extremely well to get themselves back into the game after the early 2-0 hole they had dug, which was the first time since head coach Jesse Marsch’s arrival that they had gone down by two goals before half time, they had managed to equalize by the 76th minute thanks to a pair of Jonathan David penalties. 

At that point, with at least a quarter of an hour still to play, it appeared that a late winner was very much in the cards for Canada, who had controlled large swatches of the game since going down 2-0. 

Part of that was score effects, yes, as Iceland naturally retreated into a defensive shell after going up 2-0, a shell that Canada had struggled to penetrate at times, but Canada had done well to turn the momentum of the game in their favour despite that. 

Because of that, they’ll be frustrated that right as they began to push for a third goal, they saw their momentum halted in the 80th minute, as Tajon Buchanan then earned a red card for a stray elbow. 

RED CARD🟥

For a 3rd straight 'A' friendly, the #CanMNT have earned a red card, as Tajon Buchanan is sent off for an elbow on the sideline

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer and TSN pic.twitter.com/L78LCPRmv4

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Canada’s third straight red card, and fourth in eight games, all but ended their hopes of a victory, as they ran out of steam once they were down to 10 players. 

As a result, despite putting in an overall solid performance, one that saw them outshoot Iceland 15-4, generating 2.33 xG to Iceland’s 0.68 (although 1.58 of Canada’s xG came from their penalties), Canada was unable to turn this result into anything more than a draw. 

The xG is out from today's #CanMNT game (via OPTA):

🇨🇦2.33-0.68🇮🇸

1.58 of 🇨🇦's xG came from the spot, as they otherwise had 0.75 non-penalty xG

Shots were 15-4 for 🇨🇦, showing that they struggled to create quality looks offensively, and made big mistakes defensively

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 28, 2026

In the end, Canada’s big mistakes ended up costing them, and while that wasn’t the only worry they had on the day, as they also struggled to create dangerous opportunities in the final third, they’ll be much more frustrated by those little defensive errors and the red card, given how costly they were.

Here's the attacking momentum map from this game. As seen above, while Canada's best spells came after they went down 2-0, they were on top of the game when they got the red card, showing why they'll be frustrated with going down to 10 players when they did (SofaScore)

Canada knows they need to be more dangerous in the attack, but they’ve typically done well to avoid these sort of fatal errors that they made in this game (recent run of red cards aside), so they’ll want to hope they can flush them out of their game, as they could prove to be costly in bigger games at the World Cup. 

Sometimes, the key to winning bigger games isn’t to be better than an opponent, but to limit mistakes, and Canada certainly didn’t do that against Iceland. 

Jonathan David shows signs of progress:

After failing to score in his five final appearances for Canada in 2025, having scored six in nine games to start last year, Jonathan David wanted to get 2026 started on the right foot in this one. 

Currently struggling for form at the club level with Juventus, where he’s gone goalless since February 1st, this was hoped to be a big camp for the Canadian striker, who could certainly use a shot of confidence and good vibes. 

Because of that, it’ll certainly be a relief to see David score a brace, even if they were both from the penalty spot, as he showed some great assertiveness to put away both spot kicks the way he did. 

GOAL🇨🇦

The #CanMNT are back in this game, as Jonathan David converts the PK won by Tajon Buchanan to cut Iceland's lead to 2-1

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer and TSN pic.twitter.com/oG3XTltrc5

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Yet, while that was quite significant to see David score those penalties, as they helped Canada rescue a result out of this game, they were just the icing on top of what was a resurgent performance from the Canadian striker. 

GOAL🇨🇦 🇨🇦

The #CanMNT have found an equalizer vs. Iceland, as Jonathan David once again makes no mistake from the spot after Daniel Jebbison won the PK

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer and TSN pic.twitter.com/6wa6FkBYzy

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

What was more worrying about his slump at the end of 2025 for Canada wasn’t that he had stopped scoring, but that he wasn’t seeing a lot of the ball in and around the box, and that he wasn’t shooting the ball a whole lot, either. 

Because of that, it’s key to see that David took five shots in this game and had 11 touches in the box, as he got to the sort of areas that you’d want him to get to, even when accounting for the fact that two of those shots came from the penalty spot. 

In hindsight, there are one or two of those chances that he’ll want back, no doubt - especially the one where he got on the end of a great ball from Ali Ahmed but then sent his shot right at the goalkeeper - but you have to imagine a more confident David converts that chance (or sets up an open Cyle Larin for a tap-in).

The good of this play? The way David runs in behind to anticipate a nice play from Ali Ahmed. The bad? His shot. As seen above, he could've found Cyle Larin, or shot the ball into the bottom corner (OneSoccer/TSN)

With these two penalty goals in his pocket, that confidence should hopefully continue to grow, allowing him to be even more dangerous going forward - especially if he keeps generating chances for himself at this rate. 

At the same time, while it was good to see David more involved in the final third, it’s worth noting that he was also quite impactful in other areas of the game, too. As he typically does when playing for Canada, he dropped a lot deeper as a #10 to get on the ball, allowing him to have some great moments in the build-up. 

As a result, he created one chance, had five passes into the final third, and completed all three of his long balls, doing a good job of facilitating offence for his team.

Here's an excellent example of the good work David did on the ball in deeper positions to help his team. Also, note how well he did to get in the box by the end of the play, even if he didn't get the ball back (OneSoccer/TSN)

That’s key, as this served as a reminder of what David can do for this Canadian team when on his game. It’s not always conventional to see a player as dangerous as he is offensively dropping so deep as more of a #10, yes, but when he can create opportunities for others as he did in this game, while still generating dangerous chances for himself, you can see the value that he can bring to such a position - one that many have wondered if it’s the right one for David with Canada. 

Now, the key for Canada is to ensure that David consistently finds that right balance between dropping deep and staying higher up the pitch, which hasn’t always been easy for them to do as of late, but this was a good step forward in that regard. 

At the end of the day, no matter where he plays, David is most valuable to this Canadian team when he is heavily involved in the game, which is why it was good to see his fingerprints all over this Iceland draw. 

Jonathan David showed off his composure and clinical finishing on his pair of penalty goals vs. Iceland 🥶

Even if Jesse Marsch wasn't sure if David would take the second penalty😅 pic.twitter.com/aRFfctkckl

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Marcelo Flores shines on his debut:

It was arguably the big question of this camp - when might we get to see Marcelo Flores in a Canadian shirt for the first time? 

Fresh off filing his one-time switch to play for Canada after previously representing Mexico three times, there’s been a lot of buzz around Flores, who has been in good form for Liga MX side Tigres UANL to start 2026, and understandably so. 

Knowing the potential he has as a player, it was felt that he could be an impactful addition to this Canadian side, one that sorely lacks a player of his profile. 

Welcome to the #CanMNT, Marcelo Flores!🇨🇦

After filing his one-time switch from Mexico earlier this year, the 22-year-old Georgetown native is on the pitch for his Canadian debut

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer and TSN pic.twitter.com/9EpAy1KfTO

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Because of that, it was encouraging to see Flores earn his first minutes off the bench in this game, as he was tasked with making a nearly 30-minute cameo as a substitute. 

Immediately, Flores showed what he could bring to this Canadian team, too, as he was dynamic and dangerous as soon as he got onto the field. Every time he got the ball, he tried to drive it forward, as he looked to cause headaches for Iceland’s defenders.

Here's an excellent example of Flores driving forward after some great link-up play with Jonathan David (OneSoccer/TSN)

There were a few moments where he perhaps could’ve moved the ball a little quicker and been a bit more decisive, no doubt, but you certainly couldn’t fault his intent and his desire to make things happen. 

Certainly, the statistics paint a picture of how lively he was on his debut, as he had 16 touches, completed two out of three dribbles, and completed one long ball in his 27+ minutes of action. 

The statistics from Marcelo Flores's #CanMNT debut // Las estadísticas del debut de Marcelo Flores con la CanMNT📝

- 27 minutes played ⏰
- 16 touches ⚽️
- 2/3 dribbles completed ✅
- 1/1 long balls💫 pic.twitter.com/Yg5TVmNfFj

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

What that shows, though, is why Marsch wanted to bring Flores into this team, and why Flores appears to have an inside track towards a World Cup spot despite his limited experience with this Canadian team. Even if he doesn’t earn a starting role this summer, his ability to come off the bench and change games could be a real asset, especially in matches like this one where Canada needs help breaking down a more defensive team - something they have struggled a lot with over the last few years.

Here's another example of Flores being able to create a potentially dangerous opportunity out of nothing thanks to his creativity and dribbling. Even if he could've perhaps played a different final ball. (OneSoccer/TSN)

With his ability to play both as a winger and centrally, Flores will offer some flexibility to Marsch, who can use him in a few different ways tactically depending on his needs. 

Now, Flores will want to build on this debut, no doubt, but it was an encouraging start to his time with this Canadian side, as he gave a glimpse of what he could provide to this team going forward. 

POST GAME REACTION🎙️

Hear from today's #CanMNT debutant, Marcelo Flores, as he reflects on his first game in Canadian colours at BMO Field, and how he felt he fit in with his new team🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/sdrw9AUDKP

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

What to make of Canada’s build-up and final third play? 

It was a strange day for Canada on the ball, as they weren’t great in possession, but they weren’t bad, either. 

The numbers show that, as they finished with 56% of possession, while also taking 29 touches in Iceland’s box, which isn’t bad at all. Ultimately, it’s never a bad thing if you’re regularly getting the ball to dangerous areas of the pitch.

At the same time, Canada also had some sloppy moments on the ball, as they only completed 76% of their passes. To describe Canada’s play on the ball, it was as if they’d had some good ideas, but their execution was off on a lot of the plays they made.

Here's an example of Canada not being sharp in their build-up play, as they made a sloppy turnover despite having a lot of time and space after starting with the ball in their box (OneSoccer/TSN)

For example, there were several moments where they’d get trapped on one side of the field, as they’d do well to create an overload in possession, but then they’d be unable to find the right final pass or switch of play to capitalize on it.

Here's another example where Canada got stuck on one side of the pitch with the ball, despite having a few opportunities to switch play (OneSoccer/TSN)

Then, when they got the ball to dangerous areas, they weren’t as sharp as hoped, either, as shown by the fact that they generated just 0.75 non-penalty xG despite taking 13 non-penalty shots - an average of 0.06 xG per shot. For a team that had as many touches in the box as they did, and took nine of their shots inside the penalty area, they’ll have hoped to be much more dangerous in the attack than they were.

Here's an extended clip where Canada once again struggled to switch play, eventually leading to a sloppy turnover (OneSoccer/TSN)

It must be said that they did well to generate both penalties, which actually came at the end of some good bouts of interplay. As Richie Laryea astutely pointed out after the game, even if the Canadian players hadn’t been fouled as they were, they probably would’ve still generated dangerous, high-xG opportunities based on where they were fouled (even if they would’ve struggled to replicate the 1.58 xG they were credited with from those two penalties). 

POST-GAME REACTION🎙️

Hear from #CanMNT defender Richie Laryea, as he talks about his team's resilience after conceding 2 early goals, what they changed at halftime and how they dealt with a late red card🗣️ pic.twitter.com/2iAtfTWMCm

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 28, 2026

Once again, though, that ties into that earlier point - Canada had some good flashes in possession, but were inconsistent on the ball in crucial moments.

Here's the build-up play for Canada's first penalty - as seen here, they did an excellent job of playing some free-flowing football to get the ball in the box (along with a nice 1-2 and third man run), showing that they had some good moments in possession (OneSoccer/TSN)

On one play, they’d show some excellent quality in possession, looking like the free-flowing, direct team that Marsch wants them to be, and then on the next, they’d look slow and out of ideas.

Here's an example of the sort of simple, direct play that Jesse Marsch likes to see from the CanMNT (OneSoccer/TSN)

Granted, it’s worth noting that this Canadian side were without some players that could’ve helped them in that regard. For example, in midfield, Ismaël Koné and Stephen Eustáquio were sorely missed - while Mathieu Choinière and Nathan Saliba were solid, they didn’t provide the sort of dynamic play Canada gets from the pair of Koné and Eustáquio, especially in possession. 

Then, at the back, Canada’s back four of Laryea, Kamal Miller, Joel Waterman and Niko Sigur all struggled on the ball, with Laryea (64% pass completion), Miller (77%) and Sigur (73%), really struggling in particular (Waterman completed 93% of his passes). While it was surprising to see that from Laryea and Sigur, who are pushing for starts at the World Cup and are typically so reliable on the ball, it’s worth remembering that Waterman and Miller aren’t among Canada’s top four centre-backs when everyone is healthy, showing why Canada misses the likes of Moïse Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Luc De Fougerolles and Alfie Jones, who are all either unavailable (Bombito and Jones) or on minutes restrictions (Cornelius and De Fougerolles). 

Seeing that, it explains some of Canada’s up and down patches in possession, as they looked like a team not fully in sync, and one missing some key regulars. 

Because of that, look for them to continue to hone that side of their game, which remains their biggest area of concern heading into the World Cup. They continue to be solid defensively (other than their mistakes, keeping Iceland to four shots and 0.68 xG in this game is not bad at all), and they have a clear identity, but they’re still looking to find their best level on the ball.

Here's another example of swift, attacking play from Canada, even if they weren't able to turn this opportunity into a goal or even a shot (OneSoccer/TSN)

Perhaps, they’ll show that against Tunisia, especially if they’re able to welcome back some regulars like Koné and Derek Cornelius to the starting lineup - from there, they’ll hope to build on that even further as they potentially get some more regulars back in their lineup in time for June.