Jayden Nelson replaces injured midfielder Marcelo Flores on Canada World Cup roster

Jayden Nelson is replacing injured midfielder Marcelo Flores on Canada's roster at the FIFA World Cup.

Canada Soccer announced the decision Tuesday after Flores was ruled out for the tournament with a major knee injury suffered May 30.

Nelson was one of three cuts who remained with the Canadian men's national team after the initial 26-man roster was announced.

The 23-year-old winger from Brampton, Ont., has two goals over 10 Major League Soccer games with Austin FC this season.

He has scored three times in 14 appearances for Canada's senior team, including a stoppage-time goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Uzbekistan last week in Edmonton.

Canada opens the tournament Friday against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto at 3 p.m. ET before shifting to Vancouver for group-stage matches against Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24.

Nelson changed teams ahead of the MLS season in a bid to make Canada's World Cup squad.

He spent last season with the Vancouver Whitecaps, registering two goals and six assists over 23 regular-season appearances.

As players returned from injury later in the season, though, the five-foot-seven winger struggled to get starts. The 'Caps dealt him to Austin FC in December, hoping to find him a home where he could play more minutes and make his World Cup case.

Nelson came up through Toronto FC's academy and played three seasons for the MLS club before moving to Norwegian side Rosenborg in January 2023. The Whitecaps then picked the young Canadian up from Rosenborg in January 2025.

Flores, a 22-year-old winger from Georgetown, Ont., underwent surgery last Friday after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup with his Mexican club Tigres