Celtic’s Irish Bhoys set for busy June after international call-up

While we were pleased earlier this week to report that our Japanese and United States pairings were for one reason or another going to have a month free from football the same won’t be the case for Celtic’s Republic of Ireland double act, Adam Idah and Liam Scales…

Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate — Daizen Maeda and teammate Reo Hatate are pictured with the Scottish Premiership trophy after the season’s final match against St. Mirren, on May 17, 2025. Photo IMAGO (The Celtic Star)

Daizen Maeda was rested for the two remaining Japan World Cup qualifiers against Australia and Indonesia , with qualification already secured for the Finals across Canada, United States and Mexico next summer, while Reo Hatate missed out through injury but is expect to be fit for Celtic’s pre-season with the schedule for July becoming clearer earlier this week, with games against sides from Ireland, England, Portugal, Italy and Netherlands.

CCV and Aston Trusty missed out on international call-ups

And both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty were left out of the United States summer training camp in June, as the Mauricio Pochettino begins his preparations for next summer’s World Cup finals. That might be bad news for both players but from a Celtic perspective the rest is a blessing in disguise.

In contrast it will be business as usual for Adam Idah and Liam Scales with both being called up for the two Republic of Ireland matches in June.

Liam Scales and Adam Idah both called up by Ireland

Celtic duo Liam Scales and Adam Idah have been selected to join the Ireland squad for next month’s matches. Heimer Hallgrímsson announced a 23-man squad on Thursday morning ahead of his side’s two friendly matches scheduled for June.

Ireland will face Senegal at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Friday, 6 June, before heading to Luxembourg for a second friendly encounter on Tuesday, 10 June.

Celtic’s pair have made a combined 39 international appearances for their country – and their caps will increase with Hallgrímmson playing both regularly. During the previous international break in March, Idah netted a decisive late goal to help Ireland clinch victory over Bulgaria in their UEFA Nations League B play-off.

With World Cup qualifiers not starting until September, this upcoming international break has been set aside by FIFA for friendly fixtures.

“I probably needed the loan spell at Aberdeen to bridge the gap,” Liam Scales

The squad announcement follows Scales’ recent revelation that he had not anticipated playing such a prominent role at Celtic over the last three years: “I probably wasn’t ready to come straight in and play when I first moved over here, it took me time,” he said speaking to The Herald Ireland.

“I probably needed the loan spell at Aberdeen to bridge the gap and give me experience of Scottish football, that was brilliant.

“Coming back to Celtic then, I got a little bit of luck, there were a few injuries. I probably didn’t see myself in the picture as much as I actually ended up being in it. Once I got the chance, it was a free hit nearly.

“I got the chance to play and start in my preferred position. I saw it as a free hit, in that ‘if I don’t play well, nothing is going to change because I was probably leaving [on loan]anyway, but if I do well, I have a chance to stake my claim’. I have enjoyed every bit of it.”

Best of luck to both of our Irish Bhoys.

Conor Spence

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