Preparing for Group B was the intention, staying healthy was the goal on Monday night. Canada won on and off the pitch in Edmonton.

Two straight days of torrential downpours turned the “Iceteca” into St. Rains’ Park. But second half goals from Jonathan Osorio and Jayden Nelson gave Jesse Marsch’s Canadian men’s national team a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan on Monday night.

Osorio opened the scoring just before the hour mark, and you can’t blame him if he goes to bed on Monday night feeling like he’s bought himself valuable minutes this summer at his second World Cup.

The Toronto FC captain came on at halftime and was a lively part of Marsch’s second half surge. Osorio burst forward on the right side as Canada pushed in transition with Tani Oluwaseyi feeding the oldest member on Marsch’s squad, before he powered a low shot off Uzbek goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov and into the back of the net.

Believe it or not, it was Canada’s first goal from open-play in six months. It was Osorio’s first international goal since the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The substitutes turned the tide against Uzbekistan with Toronto FC’s captain and a former TFC Academy star, in Nelson, benefiting from Tani Oluwaseyi’s distribution. The Villarreal man assisted both goals on Monday.

To say that Nelson made the most of his 45 minutes on the pitch would be an understatement. The Austin FC winger is in pole position to replace Marcelo Flores on Marsch’s 26-man squad. Scoring on Monday was as strong a statement as Nelson could’ve made.

After the devastating injury suffered by Marcello Flores on Saturday, the result against Uzbekistan in Edmonton was of secondary importance. With that gut punch fresh on the minds of players, coaches and supporters, every challenge, tackle and awkward landing against the Central Asians carried an added sense of anxiety.

Canada’s lineup was carefully managed as Marsch balanced his World Cup preparation with preservation.

As you might’ve hope, most players saw only limited minutes in Edmonton. There was positive news on several injury fronts, just not with Moïse Bombito.

Bombito was back in Canada’s starting XI, which was a nice feeling to start the night for a rain-soaked Edmonton crowd. However, his 30 minute performance was not one to remember and the OGC Nice defender did not look like the defensive anchor Marsch has relied on since taking the job two years ago.

The 26-year-old suffered setback after setback this spring, but started next to Derek Cornelius Monday night in Edmonton against the No. 50-ranked Uzbeks. Bombito was nearly caught out in the seventh minute when he slipped on the wet turf trying to shield the ball from Uzbekistan’s ace Eldor Shomurodov. To Bombito’s relief, the former AS Roma front man chipped his effort over Maxime Crépeau’s bar.

Bombito boldly claimed he was 100 percent ready to play against Bosnia on June 12, but Monday’s 30-minute cameo was hardly a ringing endorsement. He looked slow, off the mark and reactive instead of proactive. Bombito limped towards the dressing room with an ice pack on his left shin after coming off and CanMNT’s staff will hope he did not suffer a new setback.

The Nice centre-back was removed right on the half hour mark, along with Richie Laryea, just as Marsch had promised. Niko Sigur and Luc de Fougerolles came on as replacements.

Crépeau denied Shomurodov in the 44th minute with a top class point blank save, tipping Shomurodov’s bullet header over the crossbar.

Marsch still hasn’t decided who his No. 1 goalkeeper is. But with Crepeau starting on Monday night behind the number one defensive pairing in Bombito and Derek Cornelius, one might assume that the start on June 12 Is Crepeau’s. Although, there will be plenty of questions about Bombito after Monday’s outing.

“I told them to not read into that in any way, shape, or form, even though it’s impossible not to read in that,” Marsch said on Sunday.

Marsch made five changes at halftime bringing on Dayne St. Clair, as promised, Jayden Nelson, Tani Oluwaseyi, Jonathan Osorio, Mathieu Choiniere and Ralph Priso, for Crepeau, Liam Millar, Larin, Stephen Eustaquio, Tajon Buchanan. Nathan Saliba replaced Ismaël Koné in the 50th minute.

“As much as it’s been about the injuries, and I understand why, you can see there’s also a lot of guys performing at a high level right now,” Marsch said post-match. “Guys look fit, sharp. Our guys are playing fast and quick and ready to react.”

Before Osorio’s opening goal, Oluwaseyi had Canada’s best chance of the second half in the 57th minute, beating his man to reach a great through ball, but was blocked as he got a late left-footed shot off. He was denied again in the 87th minute by Uzbekistan keeper, Nematov, from close range. The Villarreal frontman has scored just two international goals in 22 CanMNT caps.

Promise David came off the bench in the 70th minute, reinforcing the expectation that he’s recovered well enough to play a serious role for Marsch’s CanMNT this summer. He looked sharp, however when the ball fell to him in the box off a wild Nelson cross, the Union Saint-Gilloise man took the deflected cross poorly off his chest.

Alfie Jones came in for the final 15 minutes in his first CanMNT appearance since the Fall. The England-born centre-back was caught out in the 77th minute and beaten badly in the top corner of the box as he slipped on the wet turf, but De Fougerolles responded quickly to thwart the danger and clear the ball for a Uzbekistan corner kick.

“I thought Alfie came out and looked really good,” Marsch said post-match.

Huge credit to the 46,164 that turned up in the pouring rain to watch a second half Canada victory. It is a bit ironic that the last time Canada played in the Alberta capital, it was one of the coldest and most dramatic games in the history of FIFA World Cup qualifying. This week, the weather and field conditions at Commonwealth Stadium were under scrutiny with the torrential rain in Edmonton. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to prove costly for Marsch’s men.

A welcome sight after warm-ups was Alphonso Davies. The Bayern Munich star landed in his hometown Sunday night to join the CanMNT camp. Marsch made it clear Davies would not play against Uzbekistan, but the Canada captain did laps on the wet grass at Commonwealth Stadium before kickoff.

“It feels nice to get back on the pitch and do some running,” Davies said post-match, while sat next to Marsch. “I’m happy to be home, and I’m happy to be with the boys and support them, whether it’s just on or off the pitch. I’m happy to do it.

“Given the timetable, obviously, me and Jesse spoke about this, that we just have to see how everything goes over the next couple days. I just continue my rehab, my progression and see how I’m feeling, day-by-day, step-by-step.”

The CanMNT now head to Quebec next for their final send-off match against the Republic of Ireland on June 5 in Montreal.

More to come.