Arne Engels will reportedly return to Celtic after being released from international duty early – due to a quirk in UEFA rules meaning he is suspended for Monday’s clash with France.
The Hoops’ record signing made his international debut off the bench against Israel and was talked up by Kevin de Bruyne after his cameo appearance helped him over the line in a 3-1 Nations League win. Many of a Hoops persuasion had hoped to see him build on that with a runout against stronger opposition in Paris on Monday night, but it seems that won’t be the case.
According to reports in Belgium, Engels is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards carried over from Belgium’s U21 Euro campaign. The suspension, strangely, only applies to international games which take place within 24 hours of the U21s being in action – either the day before, the same day, or the day after.
That’s why it didn’t apply for the Israel game, but does against France, with the youth side in action on Tuesday night. It’s reported Engels will report back to Celtic training early but he’ll be clear to feature in the double header against Italy and the French in October after the suspension is served.
Elsewhere there’s a minor scare where Alistair Johnston is concerned. The Canadian right-back started their clash with the USA on Saturday night but only lasted 25 minutes until he was forced off. US based SBI journalist Larry Henry Jr. however reports the injury ‘doesn’t look back’ and is more of a ‘precaution,’ so all going to plan he should be in the running to start against Hearts next week.
And after Elena Sadiku led Celtic women into new territory, she told her players they will need to toughen up after making Champions League history. Goals from Shannon McGregor and Kit Loferski sent the Hoops past Lithuania’s Gintra and into the second stage of qualifying for the first time ever. But the Swedish boss has warned her Hoops stars need to be better at handling their nerves if they are to achieve the dream of making the group stages.
Sadiku said: “There is nothing I want to do more for the club, the team and the supporters than to make it into the group stages. Qualifying for round two is another step. I want to dream more. I think that we can do it. There is quality in this team but we need to be better at handling pressure. It gets tougher and tougher. Our next opponent will be tougher again but that is what Celtic is about – being in the best environment and handling that kind of pressure.
“We are not 100 per cent there but we got the win which is the most important thing and we can grow as a team. The foundations are there.”
McGregor gave Celtic a 21st-minute lead with a superb 25-yard effort. They should have doubled their lead and eased their nerves when Saoirse Noonan, who netted a hat-trick on Wednesday, was fouled as she shot at goal. Mathilde Carstens, though, saw her penalty parried to safety by Gintra keeper Liisa Tuomi. That lent an edginess to proceedings and while Celtic continued to look for a second goal they had to wait until the 81st minute for Loferski to get it.
After her side booked their spot in Monday play-off draw, Sadiku said: “They got momentum when we missed the penalty and it made them more hungry. We didn’t respond well enough to that. We created a lot of chances in the second period but it is important we take them.”