Ahead of the World Cup kicking off in a week's time, there is plenty of Celtic interest in the tournament, both current and former. Eight members of the Hoops' present day squad are in North America ahead of the competition, the most the Celts have sent to a World Cup since France '98 and, back then, eight of their ten representatives were Scottish.
Celtic players at the 2026 World Cup
Players | National team | Squad role |
|---|---|---|
Yang Hyun-jun | Korea Republic | Rotation option |
Alistair Johnston | Canada | Guaranteed starter |
Kieran Tierney | Scotland | Guaranteed starter |
Anthony Ralston | Scotland | Back-up |
Auston Trusty | United States | Potential starter |
Daizen Maeda | Japan | Potential starter |
Benjamin Nygren | Sweden | Guaranteed starter |
Sebastian Tounekti | Tunisia | Rotation option |
On top of these eight, Cameron Carter-Vickers missed out due to injury, while Julián Araujo (Mexico), Marcelo Saracchi (Uruguay), Arne Engels (Belgium), Reo Hatate (Japan) and Michel-Ange Balikwisha (DR Congo) did not make the cut for their respective nations. However, there are also plenty of ex-Celtic players set to feature at the tournament too.
In total, there are 11, a number that could have been even higher. Haiti manager Sébastien Migné attempted to persuade Odsonne Édouard to join les Grenadiers' squad, but the striker turned down this opportunity, saying that he did not want to take a squad spot away from a player who had helped them qualify in the first place. So, Édouard will not be in North America, but which ex-players will be?
Scotland: Jack Hendry, Ryan Christie, Ben Gannon-Doak & Craig Gordon
Four members of Steve Clarke's Scotland squad are former Celtic players. Despite now being 43 years old, Craig Gordon is in contention to be the Dark Blues' starting goalkeeper, 22 years on from his international debut. In defence, despite having spent the last three seasons with Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, Jack Hendry could form part of Clarke's back-line.
Further forward, Ryan Christie and Ben Gannon-Doak are very much in line to be key figures. The latter suffered a serious hamstring injury during November's famous win over Denmark at Hampden, but is back now, and his direct dribbling is a unique skill set in this Scotland squad. The 20 year old made just two senior appearances for Celtic under Ange Postecoglou prior to jumping ship to Liverpool for mere compensation, before being sold to Bournemouth for £25 million.
Netherlands: Virgil van Dijk
Very few former Celtic players have gone onto achieve as much in the game as Virgil van Dijk. He spent two seasons in Glasgow prior to departing for Southampton, winning nine major honours with Liverpool since arriving on Merseyside in 2018. At international level, the centre-back currently has 91 caps to his name, seeking to become only the 11th Dutchman to surpass 100 later this year. He will be donning the armband for an Oranje side hoping to make a deep run.
Australia: Jackson Irvine
Jackson Irvine joined Celtic as a teenager, spending time across Scotland with Kilmarnock, Ross County and Hibs, before joining current employers St. Pauli in 2021. The midfielder was a regular starter in the Bundesliga this season, albeit he could not save his side from relegation. For the Socceroos, he is the most-capped outfield member of the squad, having started 25 of their last 27 competitive fixtures. Irvine bagged a brace against Indonesia in Sydney as well as a crucial opener when the Socceroos beat China in Hangzhou during qualifying, so is a guaranteed starter.
Norway: Kristoffer Ajer
Norway are back at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. While there is understandably plenty of excitement around the Lions' forward line, Kristoffer Ajer is the man holding it all together at the back. The Brentford centre-back started all eight of Norway's qualifiers, as well as their trio of friendlies subsequently. Earlier this year, Ajer surpassed 50 caps and, if Ståle Solbakken's side are going to make a deep run, he will be an integral part of it.
Sweden: Gustaf Lagerbielke & Carl Starfelt
Speaking of Scandinavian centre-backs, two of Graham Potter's defensive options have Celtic connections. Now of Braga, Gustaf Lagerbielke made only ten appearances for the Hoops, but his form in Portugal has seen him become a national team regular recently. He has started six of the Blågult's last seven fixtures, scoring a towering header during their dramatic play-off final victory over Poland in Stockholm.
Alongside captain Victor Lindelöf, another ex-Celtic defender could complete the defensive trio. Carl Starfelt now plies his trade with Celta de Vigo, looking to add to his 17 caps, having racked up 143 minutes across March's two play-off victories. Sweden are tipped for greatness this summer, so Starfelt and Lagerbielke's stock could be about to rise.
Korea Republic: Oh Hyeon-gyu
In South Korea, ahead of the tournament, there is a real clamour to see Oh Hyeon-gyu start up front which, if you saw him for Celtic, is difficult to believe. During his time in Glasgow, the striker earnt a reputation as being something of a super sub, with nine of his 12 goals coming off the bench. He was then sold to Genk, before joining Beşiktaş for €14 million in January, for whom he has been on fire.
In 16 outings for the Black Eagles, Oh has scored eight times, averaging a goal every 164 minutes. For the Taegeuk Warriors, goals against Mexico and Paraguay last Autumn took Oh's tally to six for his country, with fans demanding that manager Hong Myung-bo deploys him as the centre-forward, thereby moving talisman Son Heung-min to his more natural position on the left-wing.
United States: Tim Weah
Last, but by no means least, Tim Weah did not spend a long time in Glasgow, but it was a memorable spell. On loan from Paris Saint-Germain in 2019, he scored four goals for the Hoops, very much a striker at the time. He's subsequently played for Lille, Juventus and now Olympique de Marseille, the 26 year old is now a right winger or right-wing-back, likely to be a key figure for Mauricio Pochettino.
His father George Weah, a Ballon d'Or winner of course, is the former President of Liberia. During Weah's time at Celtic, his mother Clar travelled over to watch him, meaning we now know the answer to the question: has the First Lady of Liberia ever been the Rugby Park in Ayrshire?
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