CANADA VS. ICELAND
Monday, January 19, 4 p.m. ET
University of Central Florida – Orlando, Fla.
TV: beIN Sports
Both Canada and Iceland have big years ahead of them and were hoping to come into 2015 with some momentum. While Iceland got a boost with a 2-1 victory on Friday, Canada will look to return the favor as the two sides clash once again.
With these games falling on non-FIFA dates, neither team has assembled a first-choice lineup, which has provided the chance for newcomers to make their mark. For Canada, three local academy products – Maxim Tissot, Chris Mannella and Manjrekar James – earned their first caps for the senior national team on Friday.
The timing of the friendlies – during the North American offseason – also means that Canada have six unattached players on their roster (it was five at the start of camp, before Issey Nakajima-Farran was released by the Montreal Impact). The combination of factors meant that while Canada had some promising movement going forward, the team also looked disjointed at times – particularly on Iceland’s two goals.
Columbus Crew midfielder Kristinn Steindórsson made the most of his first appearance for his national team, scoring his first Iceland goal. On the other side, Canada’s all-time leading scorer, Dwayne De Rosario, scored his 21st goal for the country, in his 80th appearance (Paul Stalteri holds the caps record, with 84).
While it’s unlikely that most players in this training camp will feature heavily for their national teams in the official games later this year, one thing is for sure – it never hurts to start out the year on a positive note.
HISTORY
Friday’s match was just the second all-time meeting between the two sides. The first was a friendly in Reykjavik on Aug. 22, 2007, a 1-1 draw in which Olivier Occean scored for Canada.
CANADA OUTLOOK
It may seem bizarre that a country as large and prosperous as Canada sits No. 112 in the FIFA rankings, and will be traveling to a tiny island (either Dominica or the British Virgin Islands) to play in World Cup qualifying – but given the team’s results in the last two years, it’s really no surprise.
Since the beginning of 2013, Canada have just one win and seven goals scored in 19 matches. While head coach Benito Floro – who officially began in August 2013 – has been using the time to test new players and put his own tactical stamp on the program, the corollary has been a slide down the world rankings.
There have been reasons for optimism in recent months. A solid win over Jamaica, a spirited one-goal defeat to Colombia and a draw on the road in Panama closed out 2014, and Friday’s makeshift squad, despite not earning a result, did have the advantage in most statistical categories.
But with World Cup qualifying beginning in June, followed soon thereafter by the CONCACAF Gold Cup (with a berth in the Copa America Centenario on the line), Floro knows that before long, his team’s rebuilding process will need to culminate with results on the field.
ICELAND OUTLOOK
It may seem bizarre that a country as small and geographically isolated as Iceland sits No. 33 in the FIFA rankings, and is in a decent position to qualify for the European Championship for the first time in history – but given the team’s results in the last two years, it’s really no surprise.
The team had a solid run through 2014 World Cup qualifying, coming within sniffing distance of the big tournament in Brazil but falling just short in a playoff against Croatia. But that run was no fluke, as they’d show once Euro 2016 qualifying began.
They opened play in Group A with 3-0 wins against Latvia and Turkey, then claimed a massive upset over the Netherlands on Oct. 13, posting a 2-0 victory. Iceland are currently in second place in their group, behind the Czech Republic, and resume Euro qualifying against Kazakhstan on March 28.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Canada – Caleb Clarke: The 21-year-old native of Richmond, British Columbia. is a long-time member of the Vancouver Whitecaps organization, having joined the Residency program in 2009. He made his Whitecaps debut in 2012 and then earned his first senior cap for Canada in 2013.
Since then, he enjoyed a successful year-long loan at FC Augsburg II, scoring eight goals in 26 appearances. That earned him several Canada call-ups in 2014, though he was forced to miss those camps due to injury and club commitments.
Now that he’s back with club and country, Clarke will be one to watch for a Canadian team that’s in desperate need of what he brings to the table – goalscoring ability.
Iceland – Matthías Vilhjálmsson: The 27-year-old won just his 12th cap for his country on Friday, but he made it count, scoring the winning goal late in the first half. He’s the most experienced striker on a very young Icelandic squad, and is likely to play a big role again on Monday.
After years playing in his native country, he made a successful move to IK Start in Norway in 2013; he’s scored at a rate of a goal per three games in two seasons. While not at the top of Iceland’s depth chart, he’ll be motivated to turn in another strong performance, in the hopes of getting some attention from the national team later this year.
ROSTERS
Canada
GOALKEEPERS: Sean Melvin (Vancouver Whitecaps Residency); Quillan Roberts (Toronto FC); Kenny Stamatopoulos (AIK/Sweden)
DEFENDERS: Nana Attakora (unattached); Kevon Black (Toronto FC Academy); Jonathan Grant (Sigma FC); Dejan Jakovic (Shimizu S-Pulse/Japan); Manjrekar James (PMFC/Hungary); Ashtone Morgan (Toronto FC); Karl Ouimette (Montreal Impact); Maxim Tissot (Montreal Impact); Adam Straith (unattached)
MIDFIELDERS: Patrice Bernier (Montreal Impact); Christopher Mannella (Toronto FC); Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC); Julian de Guzman (unattached); Issey Nakajima-Farran (unattached); Samuel Piette (Deportivo la Coruna/Spain); Daniel Stanese (FC Augsburg II); Russell Teibert (Vancouver Whitecaps)
FORWARDS: Caleb Clarke (Vancouver Whitecaps); Iain Hume (Kerala Blasters/India); Dwayne De Rosario (unattached); Kyle Porter (unattached)
Iceland
GOALKEEPERS: Hannes Þór Halldórsson (Sandnes Ulf/Norway); Ögmundur Kristinsson (Randers/Denmark); Ingvar Jónsson (Start/Norway)
DEFENDERS: Sölvi Ottesen (Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast/Russia); Theódór Elmar Bjarnason (Randers/Denmark); Hallgrímur Jónasson (OB/Denmark); Hjörtur Logi Valgarðsson (Sogndal/Norway); Jón Guðni Fjóluson (GIF Sundsvall/Sweden); Sverrir Ingi Ingason (Viking/Norway); Haukur Heiðar Hauksson (AIK/Sweden); Hörður Árnason (Stjarnan/Iceland)
MIDFIELDERS: Rúrik Gíslason (Copenhagen/Denmark); Björn Daníel Sverrisson (Viking/Norway); Guðlaugur Victor Pálsson (Helsingborg/Sweden); Þórarinn Ingi Valdimarsson (FH/Iceland); Guðmundur Þórarinsson (Sarspborg 08/Norway); Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson (GIF Sundsvall/Sweden); Kristinn Steindórsson (Columbus Crew); Ólafur Karl Finsen (Stjarnan/Iceland)
FORWARDS: Matthías Vilhjálmsson (Start/Norway); Jón Daði Böðvarsson (Viking/Norway); Hólmbert Aron Friðjónsson (Brondby/Denmark); Elías Már Ómarsson (Keflavik/Iceland)
