Goal toward a goal: Jayden Nelson scores in Canada's World Cup tune-up match against Uzbekistan
Jayden Nelson, vying for a suddenly-vacant spot on Canada's World Cup roster, scored in stoppage time on Monday. He'll have one last chance on Friday to make an impression.
The question of who Canada head coach Jesse Marsch should select to replace injured winger Marcelo Flores on his 2026 World Cup roster just got more interesting.
Austin FC and Canada winger Jayden Nelson made good on his opportunity in Les Rouges' 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in rainy Edmonton on Monday night. Nelson scored a goal in the first minute of stoppage time, making a long run into the box and then sidefooting a Tani Oluwaseyi pass just inside the far post to provide the insurance goal.
Nelson, who entered the match at halftime for Tajon Buchanan, played alongside Vancouver Whitecaps defender Ralph Priso, also hoping to land the final spot on the roster vacated by Flores' injury in Saturday's Concacaf Champions Cup final between his Tigres and eventual winners Toluca.
Nelson (starting at around the 5:20 mark of the highlight video) also had a would-be assist to Oluwaseyi that Uzbekistan's goalkeeper was able to smother.
Per MLSSoccer.com's reporting, Marsch said post-match:
“We wanted to take this game in to see overall fitness and form from everyone. I thought that both Ralph Priso and Jayden Nelson delivered very good performances. I think we have a really good squad, like a really good team, and we're excited.”
Nelson's next and perhaps final chance to impress will come Friday when Canada has its final pre-World Cup match against Ireland in Montréal. A week after that, Canada opens World Cup play against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Jim Curtin, targeted as a top Austin FC head coaching hire per our reporting, was officially named club skipper on Monday. He'll start following the close of the 2026 season.
Austin FC has had just two head coaches in its history, not counting current interim Davy Arnaud. One key metric tells us that Verde could be doing better with one of its presumed target head coaches.
Jayden Nelson learned Friday that he'd missed the final cup for Canada's World Cup team. A teammate's unfortunate ACL injury puts Nelson back in the picture.
The question of who Canada head coach Jesse Marsch should select to replace injured winger Marcelo Flores on his 2026 World Cup roster just got more interesting.
Austin FC and Canada winger Jayden Nelson made good on his opportunity in Les Rouges' 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in rainy Edmonton on Monday night. Nelson scored a goal in the first minute of stoppage time, making a long run into the box and then sidefooting a Tani Oluwaseyi pass just inside the far post to provide the insurance goal.
Nelson, who entered the match at halftime for Tajon Buchanan, played alongside Vancouver Whitecaps defender Ralph Priso, also hoping to land the final spot on the roster vacated by Flores' injury in Saturday's Concacaf Champions Cup final between his Tigres and eventual winners Toluca.
Nelson (starting at around the 5:20 mark of the highlight video) also had a would-be assist to Oluwaseyi that Uzbekistan's goalkeeper was able to smother.
Per MLSSoccer.com's reporting, Marsch said post-match:
“We wanted to take this game in to see overall fitness and form from everyone. I thought that both Ralph Priso and Jayden Nelson delivered very good performances. I think we have a really good squad, like a really good team, and we're excited.”
Nelson's next and perhaps final chance to impress will come Friday when Canada has its final pre-World Cup match against Ireland in Montréal. A week after that, Canada opens World Cup play against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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