Celtic fans give Josip Juranovic vs Alistair Johnston verdict

As the World Cup with its shock results as well as 0-0 draws rolled on, the Croatia vs Canada match offered Celtic fans a chance to see Josip Juranovic and Alistair Johnston facing off against each other. The Croatian is rumoured to be on his way out after the tournament in Qatar, with the Canadian being brought in as his replacement.

Juranovic took his usual starting place for Croatia in the match, while Johnston was in the starting XI for Canada as well.

Johnston currently plays for CF Montreal in the MLS. He is believed to be closing in on a move to Celtic in the January transfer window with a deal pretty much over the line. So Sunday’s World Cup tie was an ideal chance for fans to see the two players competing on the pitch.

In the end, experience and quality won through with Croatia claiming a comfortable 4-1 victory in an exciting match with both players featuring in key moments.

Celtic fans gave their verdict on the duel between Johnston and Juranovic at the World Cup

The game was only 2 mins in when Alphonso Davies left Juranovic stranded as he struck a powerful header home for Canada and claimed the nation’s first ever World Cup goal.

That early goal and a couple of later moves down Canada’s left flank certainly raised more questions over Juranovic and his defensive abilities. He was having a tough time of it for a while.

But as the match progressed, he and Croatia settled into their passing game and Juranovic claimed an assist for their second goal with a terrific run to the box and pass to Marko Livaja. The right-back also took a few long throw ins to the penalty area, which isn’t a feature of his we’ve seen much of at Celtic.

Johnston on the other hand started brightly, looked pacy and strong with some good defensive tackles and cover. But just as the opposition were getting back into the game, he wasn’t able to make a tackle before being nutmegged in the build up to Croatia’s first goal.

The two full-backs saw out the entire game and both had a quieter second half. That probably reflected Croatia’s midfield dominance as the game went on. As a result we didn’t get to see much of Johnston in the attacking third.

Overall, it was perhaps not the best of games to judge either player, with Croatia a much better team than Canada.