Dale Mitchell happily settled for a draw in his unofficial debut as coach of Canada's men's soccer team.

Olivier Occean, from Brossard, Que., scored the tying goal in the 75th minute as the visiting Canadians drew 1-1 with Iceland in Wednesday's friendly at Laugardalsvollur Stadium in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Canada's Julian de Guzman heads the ball during Wednesday's 1-1 draw.
(O. Oskarsson/Associated Press)

It marked the second international goal for Occean, who entered the contest as a substitute for Iain Hume in the 60th minute.

Emil Hallfredsson opened the scoring for Iceland 10 minutes earlier.

"It was a tough match, a good test for us, and the guys did well," Mitchell said. "We went down a goal.

"But we had a good reaction to the goal, which was the most pleasing thing. The guys showed good resiliency and an ability to bounce back."

Mitchell previously handled Canada's under-20 team, which failed to advance out of the first round at this summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He was promoted May 17.

"Overall, I was quite pleased with the way everybody went about, not just the game but the three days that I was involved here with the team for the first time," Mitchell said. "It's definitely something to build on."

Ten of the 17 players on Wednesday's senior side played for Canada at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June, including Paul Stalteri, who has made 60 appearances for Canada, and fellow defender Richard Hastings, with 44 international appearances.

Canada reached the semifinals of the Gold Cup before losing 2-1 to the eventual champion United States.

No players from Toronto FC, the lone Canadian team in Major League Soccer, made the 17-player roster.

Also missing was slick midfielder Dwayne De Rosario of Scarborough, Ont., but Houston Dynamo teammate Pat Onstad flew over to replace ailing Lars Hirschfeld (injured thumb) in goal.

"He played Sunday night in Houston, flew all the way over here and did a good job," Mitchell said. "You expect that from Pat, because he is an experienced keeper and he is a quality guy and always ready to play for Canada."

Canada's next friendly is Sept. 12 versus Cost Rica at Toronto's BMO Field.

"That game is going to be one that we're all looking forward to, being the first game back in Canada for awhile and the first game at BMO," Mitchell said. "There is quite a buzz about soccer in Toronto now, so I think the staff and all the players are looking forward to it."

With files from the Canadian Press