With Celtic having a handful of stars away to the World Cup in Qatar, the supporters will definitely be hoping that all make it through with a clean bill of health to help us motor our way to another cinch Premiership title. Daizen Maeda, Aaron, Mooy, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Josip Juranovic will all be competing over the next few weeks and will showcase their talent to a worldwide audience.
Cameron Carter-Vickers has been called up by the USMNT squad and will eagerly awaiting his clash with England striker Harry Kane. The big man has been like a rock since joining the club initially on loan after a somewhat nomadic early footballing career. He has since made Celtic Park his home and became a stalwart in this Ange Postecoglou side.
Many thanks to Cameron and his defensive partnership with Carl Starfelt last season, we were able to usurp theRangers as Scottish Premiership Champions for the tenth time in eleven years. Much ado was made about the more creative players that Ange signed but it was this couple along with Joe Hart in that defensive triangle that solidified – what was beforehand – a leaky backline.
Now former Celtic boss Martin O’Neill has had his say, citing that Cameron will be excited to show England what they are missing without him. Carter-Vickers could have represented either the USA or England and chose the US in the end. He will have to contend with a top striker in Kane and will be a formidable foe for the Essex-born American international. O’Neill said: “Carter-Vickers has been brilliant at club level, and I can see him doing well in Qatar,” as reported by Daily Record.
“After a few loan spells, he appears to have found his spiritual home at Parkhead. His defensive qualities are absolutely sound. He will know Kane well as they were team-mates at Spurs. So Cameron will look to put that knowledge to good use when they face each other on Friday. England have a hugely-talented squad, and Gareth Southgate does extremely well with them at tournaments.
“But it will be just one of the many games that will grab me. The World Cup is a magnificent tournament, and there will be excitement around the globe for the next four weeks.”
Cameron is exactly the type of profile that Martin O’Neill loved as a manager; tough, big, stong, athletic, and full of endeavour. There’s no doubting that he will be up against a world-class talent in England’s Kane, but he has handled opposition like Kane before in European competition. If he does start against his former Tottenham Hotspur teammate, it will be a match-up that’s not to be missed.
Paul Gillespie
