Celtic have a number of stars on international duty representing their respective nations ahead of returning to base later in the week.
Despite an eerily quiet few days, some intriguing events involving some of our Bhoys have made for good reading.
Canadian defender Alistair Johnston has cause for celebration after helping Les Rouges to qualify for Copa America, playing the entire 90 minutes in their 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in the CONCACAF Nations League final round.
Daizen Maeda also managed to come through the totality of Japan’s 1-0 victory over North Korea last week; however, the return fixture in Pyongyang scheduled to be played tomorrow has been cancelled [Guardian].
The Asian Football Confederation hasn’t given an official reason for the postponement other than claiming the match was called off due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’, capping a bizarre timeline of events.
Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston are in Scotland’s camp and travelled to Amsterdam amid their 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands, with the latter featuring off the bench for 16 minutes [Transfermarkt].
Celtic’s Anthony Ralston speaks from international camp
Ralston and Taylor will now be involved in preparation for Scotland’s friendly against Northern Ireland tomorrow evening following the Tartan Army’s disappointing late collapse against the Netherlands.
The 25-year-old has opened up on the defeat, indicating his frustration at his side’s inability to get themselves on the scoresheet despite having 13 shots during the affair [BBC Sport].
Ralston stated [Cited via Edinburgh Evening News]: “I felt for the majority of the game. we did really well; as a squad, we felt that had we taken our opportunities, we would have been in a better place in the game.
“But we know as a squad what our standards are, and when the goals go in, it’s not to let that slip, which we were disappointed with, but it’s important we bounce back against Northern Ireland.
“We demand off each other high standards but we’ll analyse the game. and where we went wrong and put it right.”
Hopefully, Ralston and Taylor can gain some meaningful minutes against Northern Ireland before reporting back to Lennoxtown in plenty of time for our away trip to face Livingston this Sunday.
Celtic have won all three meetings against the Lions this term; however, there is no margin for error at the Tony Macaroni Arena amid our ongoing pursuit of the Scottish Premiership title.