Celtic have four players involved with Scotland at EURO 2024 who could play a part in their defining clash against Switzerland this evening.
Callum McGregor and Anthony Ralston both started for the Tartan Army in their disappointing 5-1 defeat to Germany last Friday; meanwhile, Greg Taylor and James Forrest remained on the bench as unused substitutes.
Harsh lessons will need to be learned swiftly for Scotland, who are looking to draw level on points with Switzerland to harbour realistic hope of progressing from Group A.
The permutations for the match at RheinEnergieStadion tonight couldn’t be higher, so let’s take a look at what the result could mean for the Celtic contingent.
The Celtic quartet at EURO 2024 and all potential scenarios
At the time of writing, Germany and Hungary are still to kick-off in this evening’s other Group A match, which could further alter the landscape for the four Celtic players in question.
Now, if you aren’t aware, first and second qualify automatically for the Round of 16. Furthermore, the four best-placed finishers in third also make their way through due to the expansion of the championships in recent years.
If Scotland win tonight, they will rise to three points and draw level with Switzerland. Should Germany beat Hungary in the earlier kick-off, Steve Clarke’s men would be second in the group, with a point or more against Hungary likely to secure progression.
Moving on, in the event of a draw, anticipation would roll onto Sunday evening’s clash between Scotland and Hungary.
Optimally, a total of four points would essentially guarantee a best-placed third-place finish, so if a stalemate were followed up by victory against Marco Rossi’s outfit at the weekend, McGregor, Ralston, Forrest, and Taylor would stay in Germany for a while longer.
On the other hand, the last scenario may signal an abrupt end to the tournament for the Bhoys involved at the tournament. Scotland already hold a goal difference of minus four, and losing to Switzerland would render their chances of advancing near impossible.
They could, therefore, only claim a maximum of three points against Hungary on the third matchday. Unless they were to thrash their opponents by an epic proportion, the last fixture may become inconsequential.
There is firm Celtic representation at EURO 2024 this summer. Hopefully, they can all play a part in their national side making history.