Mixed fortunes for Hoops internationals

[KK-Bhoy]

Mixed fortunes for Hoops internationals

Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa had its turn ahead of the start of the domestic season this past week, and a large chunk of Gordon Strachan’s Celtic squad had to make the trips abroad to represent their countries, just days before the Hoops face an important trip to Fir Park in the SPL and get their Champions League campaign underway.

Stephen McManus, Gary Caldwell, Paul Hartley, Barry Robson and Scott Brown all started in Scotland’s disappointing 1-0 defeat to FYR of Macedonia in Skopje at the weekend. Shaun Maloney came off the bench and put in a good little shift, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the defeat.

McManus, Caldwell, Robson, Brown and Maloney all then started in Scotland’s second qualifier against Iceland in Reykjavík on Wednesday, and the Scots came out on top this time, 2-1. Hartley came off the bench to tighten things up with about ten minutes to go after Celtic and stand in Scotland captain McManus was sent off late on for a deliberate handball in the penalty area.

Aiden McGeady started both of the Republic of Ireland’s qualifiers in Mainz, Germany against Georgia on Saturday and in Podgorica against Montenegro in midweek. Ireland won against Georgia 2-1 and picked up a gritty 0-0 draw against Montenegro, although McGeady would have been disappointed with his two contributions. The Republic fans are beginning to get frustrated with the lively winger, as he’s still not bringing his club form to the international table.

Georgios Samaras was on the substitute’s bench for Greece’s 3-0 win over Luxembourg at the weekend, but didn’t play any part. However, there was better news for the champions’ top scorer so far this season in Greece’s second qualifier as he started in the 2-0 win over Latvia in Riga on Wednesday, and put in a very decent performance. He was substituted after 88 minutes for Nikos Liberopoulos.

Andreas Hinkel was named amongst the German substitutes in their impressive 6-0 win away to Liechtenstein on Saturday afternoon, but, like Samaras, didn’t play any part. He then got on the field after 82 minutes in Germany’s 3-3 draw against Finland in Helsinki in midweek to receive his first cap for his country in two years; he took the place of Clemens Fritz.

Jan Venegoor of Hesselink came on as a late substitute in Holland’s 2-1 friendly loss at home to Australia in Eindhoven last weekend, and almost scored with his first touch. He was named amongst the substitutes for Holland’s qualifying match with FYR of Macedonia in Skopje on Wednesday, but didn’t see any game time.

Shunsuke Nakamura started for Japan, and opened the scoring for the visitors with a brilliant trademark free kick, as they opened up their final round of qualifying with a good 3-2 victory over Bahrain in Riffa on Saturday night. Bahrain targeted the instrumental playmaker from the start but that didn’t stop him from putting in a solid performance to guide the Japanese home.

Hoops fans everywhere will be holding their breath as to whether the Celts on international duty picked up any little injuries, especially with the very hectic three weeks coming up for the champions. At this early stage, however, the signs are looking positive.