Mixed fortunes for our Bhoys on international duty as last night saw a victory for Liam Scales whilst Arne Engels suffered a defeat on his first start for Belgium…
As predicted, new Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson opted for Hoops centre-back Liam Scales to play alongside towering Brentford defender Nathan Collins.
Liam Scales establishing himself in Ireland side
Scales played the entire 90 minutes in Ireland’s solid 1-0 victory over Finland at the Aviva Stadium in their penultimate UEFA Nations League outing for the World Cup in two years time. Despite beating Finland home and away, the Irish will finish 3rd place as they cannot catch England or Greece who are both on 12 points.
Viljami Sinisalo was on the bench
Notably, Celtic’s no.2 keeper Viljami Sinisalo was on the bench for Finland. However, similarly to his club, an experienced head is ahead of him in the pecking order as Bayer Leverkusen’s shotstopper Lukas Hradecky was in between the sticks in Dublin.
Preparing for Lee Carsley’s England on Sunday night, Celtic’s consistent defender will most likely be asked to go again. Whether it be Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, or skipper Harry Kane upfront for the Three Lions, Scales will be in for a tough test.
The signs for Ireland are promising though, and it is clear improvements from the Stephen Kenny era have already been made under Hallgrimsson’s stewardship. Ultimately, it is about putting in place the building blocks to mount a serious challenge of qualifying for the World Cup in North America in 2026.
Landmark achievement for Arne Engels
Meanwhile, Arne Engels made a landmark achievement for his country. Engels started his first full senior Belgium game yesterday evening. Celtic’s record signing lasted 71 minutes before being substituted for RB Leipzig loanee Arthur Vermeeren.
Vermeeren was an unused sub in the Bundesliga outfits loss in Glasgow just over a week ago.
Domenico Tedesco’s side suffered a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Italy who are top of the tree in Nations League A Group 2. The Italians have seemed to find some consistency under the reins of former Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti, and they will be one of the favourites to lift the Nations League trophy.
Similarly to Ireland, Belgium has a dead rubber on Sunday away to Israel in neutral Budapest. Tedesco’s men are guaranteed to finish 3rd place no matter the outcome in their final group match. Given the meaningless nature of the fixture, Engels may be handed another start.
Subsequently, the Hoops playmaker will still most likely secure cap number four for his country which at the age of 21 is a remarkable feat.
Conor Spence
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