The international break is in full swing, and plenty of Celtic players are in action for their respective nations around the globe.
Closer to home, Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Greg Taylor and Anthony Ralston are involved in Scotland’s pre-EURO 2024 camp; meanwhile, further afield, Reo Hatate and Luis Palma are also on duty representing Japan and Honduras, for example.
Across the water, the Republic of Ireland harbour three Celtic who are involved in their friendlies, the first of which resulted in a 2-1 victory over Hungary at the Aviva Stadium last night: Liam Scales, Mikey Johnston and Bosun Lawal.
They take on Portugal next week at Estadio Municipal de Aveiro, providing another opportunity for some Bhoys to get minutes in their legs during the close season.
One Brendan Rodgers favourite certainly took his opportunity to impress in Dublin last night, and 67 Hail Hail take a look at how his performance helped Ireland to record their first victory since March 2023 that wasn’t against Gibraltar.
Adam Idah’s exemplary performance against Hungary
Adam Idah is the talk of the Celtic support right now amid Rodgers’ desire to have him at the club permanently following his excellent loan spell in 2023/24.
The 23-year-old scored nine times and laid on two assists in 19 appearances for the Hoops after arriving from Norwich City, and it appears his Midas touch has now transferred over to Ireland duty [Transfermarkt].
Per Fotmob, Idah led the line in exemplary style for the Boys in Green despite having limited service, taking on two shots (50% on target), completing two dribbles, winning one aerial duel, and having two touches in the opposition box from 18 overall.
He also found his intended target with seven of his nine attempted passes. Defensively, he chimed in by recording three successful duels and two ground duels alongside putting up one ‘defensive action’, helping John O’Shea’s men to stem Hungary’s dominance for large periods of the game.
Crucially, Idah netted under ten minutes before the interval to open the scoring with a bullet header from a pinpoint Will Smallbone cross, converting one of only two shots on target mustered by Ireland on the night.
Truthfully, the Irish side rode their luck against Hungary; however, in stoppage time, Troy Parrott broke away to slot past Denes Dibusz, sending the nearly 30,000 crowd at the Aviva into raptures.
Nevertheless, Idah showcased once again why Celtic are keen to land him on a permanent basis. He is blossoming into a player the Bhoys cannot ignore in their hunt for firepower ahead of 2024/25.