Celtic players set to feature at Euro 2024…
With another glorious Double fresh in the memory and Celtic continuing to cement their recent dominance of Scottish football, attention now turns to the 17th edition of the European Football Championship Finals, set to take place in Germany this summer. Scotland have secured their appearance at the Finals after a strong qualifying campaign, and there is plenty of Celtic interest in Steve Clarke’s squad, as well as further afield.
Where and when is Euro 2024?
Euro 2024 will kick off in Germany on 14th June and the Tartan Army will be out in force as Scotland take on hosts Germany in the opening match in Munich. The tournament features 24 teams placed into six groups, with teams looking to progress through to the Round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and then the final showpiece, scheduled for Berlin on 14 July. There are ten host cities, with Scotland also set to feature in Cologne (against Switzerland on 19 June) and in Stuttgart (against Hungary in the team’s final group game on 23 June).
What the bookmakers says
It’s the Auld Enemy England and Kylian Mbappe’s France that lead the sports betting sites’ list of favourites heading into the big event. But with sites offering plenty of enticements including new customer offers and more, it’s a good opportunity to scan the odds and spot an opportunity on a host of markets in the lead up to the event as well as after it kicks off. Steve Clarke’s men are currently available at around 100/1, although if you shop around those can stretch out to as big as 150/1. And if you fancy, why not back a Scotland player to nab the top goalscorer award ahead of the likes of Harry Kane, Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Celtic players part of Steve Clarke’s plans
Four Celtic men have been selected for Clarke’s provisional squad ahead of the main squad announcement, and it’s the least the players deserve after such a successful campaign that culminated in yet another historic Double.
Defender Greg Taylor had a stellar campaign, making 46 appearances across all competitions and scoring three goals along the way. The 26-year-old left back is looking to add to his 13 senior caps in Germany.
Fellow defender Anthony Ralston has also been called up after featuring 18 times for Brendan Rodgers’ men over the course of the season. The right back is looking to add to his eight international caps secured so far.
A shoe-in for the Scotland squad was skipper Callum McGregor. The inspirational midfielder had a brilliant campaign, featuring 45 times across all competitions and notching two goals. McGregor has represented his country at every level and will surely add to his 58 caps this summer, and will look to add to his haul of three goals.
An important goalscorer for Scotland, McGregor’s combative approach will be crucial to the Scottish midfield, and he’s a player that coach Clarke relies on heavily alongside fellow midfielders John McGinn and Scott McTominay. That steel and determination in midfield, alongside no little guile, was crucial to Scotland securing their place at this summer’s finals.
For Hoops fans it will be a particular pleasure to see home favourite James Forrest return to the national side, three years after his last appearance. It’s been a tough spell for the winger, who has sustained his fair share of injuries over the period, but he now could be set to add to his 38 caps for the national side after starring in Celtic’s run-in to securing yet another Premiership title.
Forrest bagged no fewer than five goals in his last eight matches, something that wasn’t lost on Steve Clarke. “He (Forrest) has had a fantastic finish to the season… He’s worked really hard. You’re looking and thinking: ‘Wow, James is back to where he was three or four years ago.’ That was something I couldn’t overlook,” Clarke said.
Elsewhere there was disappointment for Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley who was surprisingly left out of the Denmark squad for Euro 2024. After completing a brilliant season at Celtic and starring in the Champions League there was real momentum among the Danish support and pundits to include the Celtic midfielder but it was not to be.
