How did our SPFL representatives get on in Qatar?
Scotland might not have qualified for this year’s World Cup, but 12 Scottish Premiership stars have been away representing their countries. Let’s have a look at how they all got on in Qatar.
Australia
Half of the SPFL players in Qatar were representing the Socceroos. Celtic midfielder Aaron Mooy is the most experienced international from Scotland, with 57 caps to his name, four of which came in Qatar, playing the full 90 minutes in every match.
Heart of Midlothian defender Kyle Rowles also played every single minute of the Socceroos’ World Cup journey, forming a strong centre-back partnership with Harry Souttar, the younger brother of Scotland’s John Souttar.
There were more links to the marron side of Edinburgh with full-back Nathaniel Atkinson, who made a solitary appearance in their 4-1 last 16 defeat to France.
St Mirren’s Keanu Baccus was perhaps a surprise inclusion in the squad having only made his international debut in a friendly against New Zealand, prior to the World Cup getting underway. He came off the bench in three of Australia’s four group games and started in their final match against Argentina.
Dundee United left-back Aziz Behich also played a key role for the Australians as he played in every match of their run to the last 16.
There was one more Hearts player in Graham Arnold’s squad, midfielder Cammy Devlin, but he didn’t make an appearance.
Croatia
Croatia had an excellent tournament, securing third place after beating Morocco 2-1 in the third-place playoff with the help of two top Scottish Premiership full-backs, Celtic’s Josip Juranovic and Rangers’ Borna Barisic.
Juranovic was Zlatko Dalic’s go-to right-back in Qatar, having featured in all except one of Croatia games. He managed to get an assist in the group stage, setting up Croatia’s second goal in a convincing 4-1 victory over Canada.
Despite the bronze medal, you could argue that it has been a World Cup to forget for Barisic. The Rangers left-back only made a single appearance in their penalty shootout victory over Japan.
Japan
Japan surprised many football fans the world with their displays earning them a few scalps along the way, namely against Germany and Spain. Celtic have an array of Japanese talent in their squad, but only one of them made it on to the plane to Qatar. Somewhat surprisingly, Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate missed out, leaving Daizen Maeda flying the flag for Scottish football.
The Celtic striker lead the line for Japan in every game apart from their 1-1 draw against Costa Rica. He was repeatedly praised by commentators and fans alike for his work rate, scoring a goal in Japan’s penalty shootout defeat to Croatia.
Wales
Dundee United’s Dylan Levitt made the trip to Qatar as part of Wales’ first World Cup squad since 1958. However, the former Manchester United youngster couldn’t break into the Welsh midfield and didn’t make an appearance for Rob Page’s side.
USA
Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers was the only American player to be selected from the SPFL, however, many expected Malik Tillman to also make the cut, but USA manager Gregg Berhalter had other ideas. Carter-Vickers played in just the one match, a 1-0 victory over Iran.
Canada
St Johnstone stalwart David Wotherspoon pulled on the red jersey for Canada, one of the biggest underdogs in the tournament. Unfortunately for Wotherspoon, he only played 14 minutes across his country’s four games, in one match against Morocco.
All in all, it has been a strong tournament for Scottish football even without our own national team being present.