Which former Celts are making waves in Qatar?
IN a previous edition of the Celtic Digest, we looked at how Daizen Maeda, Cameron Carter- Vickers, Josip Juranovic and Aaron Mooy were faring after the first round of World Cup fixtures.
There was also a discussion about which player would go furthest in the competition. Given matchday two of the tournament in Qatar has come to an end, it feels like a good time to check in with some former Hoops players that are representing their countries at the international spectacle...
Virgil van Dijk and Jeremie Frimpong ( Netherlands)
The Dutch have started the World Cup relatively well, gaining seven points from their three group- stage matches.
Given they are in a group with Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador, they would have been expected to progress.
Louis van Gaal’s men topped their group and will take on the USA in the round of 16.
If they are to get to the latter stages of the tournament, then captain Virgil van Dijk will no doubt play a key role.
One of the best defenders in the world, the former Parkhead centre- back has an extensive trophy haul at this point and he would no doubt love to add an international honour with his country to his collection.
Data from Wyscout shows that in terms of individual performances, he was dominant in all three of his matches so far – but in different ways.
Against Senegal he was strong from an attacking standpoint. He completed 89 per cent of his passes and was successful in two out of four long- range passes.
In the second fixture he had to be more defensively minded and as a result, he was successful in 71 per cent of his duels and only lost out on one aerial duel.
When the Netherlands took on Qatar the results were similar, with him winning 100 per cent of his duels.
His fellow countryman Jeremie Frimpong is yet to feature in Qatar.
Olivier Ntcham ( Cameroon)
While he was capped for the France Under- 21s, the Swansea midfielder has chosen to represent Cameroon at senior level.
His country was handed a tough group with Switzerland, Serbia and one of the favourites Brazil.
So far, they have lost 1- 0 to the Swiss and played out a thrilling 3- 3 draw with Serbia.
They can technically still qualify by beating Neymar and co., but it is going to be very difficult.
Ntcham has been on the bench for both matches and is yet to see any action.
Timothy Weah ( USA)
The American has arguably made the biggest impact of anyone on this list after scoring against Wales on matchday one.
It was a smart finish from the former Celtic loanee as after making a clever run in behind, he was able to calmly poke the ball past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
According to Wyscout, in that match he completed 88 per cent of his total passes, recorded one accurate long- range pass and provided a single successful dribble and two accurate crosses.
In the second group game against England, the USA had to be more defensive given the step up in opposition and they managed to do that as they kept a clean sheet.
However, the forward’s game suffered and he was only able to complete three successful duels out of 12. It was very much a muted second outing for the Lille player.
Gregg Berhalter’s side were victorious in their final group stage match, with Weah once again involved with two shots and six touches in the penalty area as the Americans defeated Iran 1- 0 to book their place in the knockout stages.
Jackson Irvine ( Australia)
Things did not start out easy for the Socceroos when they were handed a group which included France and Denmark.
This was always going to make qualification difficult and it seemed like they may once again be there just to make up the numbers when an Oliver Giroud- inspired world champions defeated them 4- 1 in their first match.
However, Graham Arnold’s men rallied and put themselves in second place after a 1- 0 victory against Tunisia. Irvine, who is currently on the books of St Pauli in Germany, has started all three matches in the competition.
Stats from Wyscout covering the first two matches demonstrated that the Hoops academy graduate is a key part of Australia moving the ball forward.
In the fixtures, he had a pass completion of over 80 per cent and out of six long- range passes he was only off target with one.
From a defensive standpoint, he was lacking a bit though. He won only 25 per cent of his duels against France and while a slight improvement of 40 per cent against Tunisia, he will need to be stronger in the tackle going forward given his position in the middle of the park.
The Aussies remarkably beat Euro 2020 semi- finalists Denmark in their final group game to reach the round of 16 for only the second time with Irvine – next to current Celtic player Aaron Mooy – putting in an integral shift from both a defensive and attacking standpoint.