Canada Names Injury Replacement Before World Cup Opener

TORONTO — Canada is back up to a healthy 26-man roster for the 2026 World Cup after adding winger Jayden Nelson to the team, who replaced the injured Marcelo Flores before Friday’s opening match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The 23-year-old tells Sports Illustrated that “it was a relief” to make the roster, becoming one of the few to crack a co-hosting World Cup team just days before tournament kickoff, a little over a week after dealing with the heartbreak of being told he had fallen short.

A native of nearby Brampton, Nelson had been a part of the Canadian camp from the beginning, when the group convened in Charlotte, N.C. at the end of May. Manager Jesse Marsch said he wouldn’t be part of the final 26, but that he was a fringe option in the 32-man camp as Canada combated injuries.

He remained with the group through friendlies in Edmonton and Montréal, scoring in a 2–0 win over Uzbekistan and impressing in a 1–1 draw with Ireland. Marsch, keeping his cards close to his chest, praised Nelson after both performances, but didn’t inform him of the promotion until the weekend—with the news made official on Monday.

“I had a belief and faith in myself that even if he said I wasn’t going, I still believed that I was gonna make the squad, somehow,” Nelson adds. “I treated every session, every fitness test as my last game or camp, and that was the mindset coming into it...to try to create a new reputation every time I stepped on the field.”

A World Cup at Home

Jayden Nelson will play in his first World Cup on the fields he grew up on. | Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Canada arrived to the Toronto FC training facility flanked by 22 police cars and motorcycles, in a bus decked out in FIFA World Cup branding. For Nelson, who was developed through the Toronto FC academy like five others in Canada’s squad, and played three seasons with the MLS club, it marked a stark difference from the times he’d driven or taken the train to the training grounds in his youth.

The buildings are adorned with FIFA branding, and ad boards of foreign companies hug the pitch, but for a player who has the facility at his core, the magnitude of the moment hasn’t quite set in—“No, not for me,” he says.

First Game in Front of Grandpa

Nelson’s inclusion didn’t become public until Tuesday, but he hadn’t kept it a secret. After Marsch told him the news, he feverishly called his grandfather, Owen Campbell.

“He was emotional, and he's not an emotional guy,” Nelson says. “He knows that there's a lot of work put into this... he’s the one that started everything.”

Nelson, despite his breadth of MLS experience and a foray into the lower tiers of Norway and Germany, has never played a professional game in front of his grandfather. On Friday, he might just get that chance—on the same pitch he made his professional debut, after a week of training at the facility that was his second home throughout his youth.

While Nelson isn’t likely to be a starter for Canada this summer, he is a potential X-factor. With speed, he fits into Marsch’s unrelenting pressing system and can make an impact off the bench. Hull City’s Liam Millar and Norwich City’s Ali Ahmed remain in front of him on the left-side depth chart, but neither has the dribbling skills Nelson can add in the late stages.

Injury Updates

Canada Soccer — Canada’s men’s national team continues to build towards Friday’s World Cup opener. | Steve Russell/Toronto Star/Getty Images

Canada will likely turn to Nelson at some point, despite him being the third option on the left side. On Tuesday, the team had center back Moïse Bombito—previously reported to have been removed from the roster—in modified training, while star left back Alphonso Davies remained in a return to play program alongside center back Ralph Priso, who would likely slide into Bombito’s role if the pacey central defender’s healing process from a broken leg has not improved.

Marsch refuted reports on Sunday, saying that the team will give Bombito “up to the last minute” to improve his condition, and that Priso is in return-to-play protocols as a precaution. Canada’s final squad is due at 2:59 pm ET on Thursday, 24 hours before the clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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