With places in the World Cup squad up for grabs, Kamal Miller did himself no favours and looked uncomfortable dealing with a bouncing ball while under pressure in the ninth minute.
He left his back pass woefully short, and Orri Oskarsson scampered clear before calmly tucking the ball past Dayne St. Clair at the near post.
Unsurprisingly, Jonathan David proved to be Canada’s most lively attacking threat in the early stages, with the Juventus man creating a great chance for Nathan Saliba, but the Anderlecht midfielder lacked conviction in his finish, as he curled the ball into the arms of Elias Rafn Olafsson.
That was a sorely missed opportunity to reverse the momentum of the first half, as the visitors struck again minutes later.
Mikael Egill Ellertsson played the crucial pass as he released Oskarsson through on goal, and clearly brimming with confidence after the opener, he clinically dispatched the ball high into the net beyond the helpless St. Clair.
Despite his side’s inability to make inroads into the two-goal deficit before half-time, Marsch opted against making any changes during the interval.
He was almost vindicated just before the hour mark, after Ali Ahmed picked out David, who was denied by an excellent stop from Olafsson.
But just when it looked like the game might be slipping away, Canada forged a way back in, when Ellertsson was penalised for felling Tajon Buchanan in the area, and David composed himself to end his four-game scoring drought for Canada from the spot.
Seven minutes later, substitute Daniel Jebbison was felled after weaving his way into the area, and David equalised with a carbon copy of his first penalty.
With the wind in their sails, the hosts looked set to lay siege to the Iceland goal in the final 10 minutes, but a moment of madness from Buchanan resulted in a red card as he was penalised for throwing an elbow at Ellertsson.
Despite that unwelcome end, Canada will be hopeful of building momentum against Tunisia next week, whilst Iceland will hope to collect a win themselves against Haiti.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jonathan David (Canada)
