Former Celtic favourite Kristoffer Ajer helped secure Norway a spot in the World Cup knockout stage with a solid performance in a 3-2 win over Senegal.
Ajer left Celtic for Brentford back in 2021 and has made 125 appearances for the established Premier League side.
However, Ajer has been crucial on the international stage for Norway as the former Celtic defender has started 15 of their last 16 ties.
But in the 2026 World Cup, the big Norwegian was crucial as Ajer starred in their 3-2 win over Senegal to guarantee a knockout tie in the big summer tournament.
Not bad from Alistair Johnston at the World Cup… 🔥
Celtic hero Kristoffer Ajer’s outstanding World Cup performance
The towering defender played the full 90 minutes as Norway edged Senegal in a five-goal thriller at the New York New Jersey Stadium and Ajer was a complete rock at the heart of the defence.
Here are the ex-Celtic star’s stats from the game:
- 10 total defensive contributions
- 6 clearances (including 3 headed clearances)
- 5 recoveries
- 2 tackles won
- 1 block & 1 interception
- 0 fouls committed and 0 times dribbled past
- 100% ground duels won (2/2)
- 80% aerial duels won (4/5)
- 88% passing accuracy (29/33 accurate passes)
- 100% accurate long balls (1/1)
Watching Ajer dominate will be bittersweet for the Celtic fans as they are reminded why the big Norwegian was such a huge favourite at Parkhead after picking up nine domestic honours in a record-breaking Treble Treble run.
What Ajer told Vincent Angelini about Celtic
Ajer spent five years at Celtic making 176 first team appearances for the Glasgow giants. Even now, the Norway international still has the club at heart.
Former Academy starlet Vincent Angelini told in March this year how Ajer just ‘doesn’t shut up’ about Celtic.
Angelini said, “Kristoffer Ajer was there too. When he was at Celtic, I was at under 18s, so I think I’d only trained with the first team once or twice, so I don’t think I was a familiar face to him.
“But we spoke about Celtic loads of times, he’s a massive Celtic fan. He’s a fanatic about Scotland actually, he just doesn’t shut up about Scotland or stop talking about Celtic!”
For Celtic, there are no hard feelings about Ajer’s exit. He left the club amicably and the Hoops got a £13.5m fee for a player who cost £600,000.
Celtic fans will keep a close eye on Ajer because with Erling Haaland in the team, Norway do have the potential to go far in this year’s World Cup.
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