Celtic stars could face each other in Nations League playoffs

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They may all be fighting in the same corner domestically, but a host of Celtic players could come up against each other in March’s Nations League playoffs.

Scotland, Israel, and Norway could all be in the same playoff category. Scotland could end up facing Israel in the playoff semi-finals if the draw on November 22nd pulls them out of the hat (UEFA).

That could mean that the likes of James Forrest, Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie, and Greg Taylor come up against Hoops team-mates Hatem Abd Elhamed and Nir Bitton respectively.

If this match was drawn, Scotland would play the tie at home considering they’re ranked higher than Israel. Scotland are guaranteed a home clash for the semi-final (Scottish Sun).

Meanwhile, Kristoffer Ajer’s Norway will take part in the playoffs too. They’re also in Path C, and will take on Serbia on the other playoff semi-final.

Should Norway overcome the Serbs, they could face either the Scots or Israel. Therefore, Ajer and potentially Mohamed Elyounoussi could also be up against the players mentioned above.

Eight Celtic stars could face team-mates in the playoffs

At the moment, Celtic have a total of eight players all fighting it out with each other for playoff success. That’s not including Leigh Griffiths either, who may be able to get himself into the Scotland mix too come March.

The playoff final host will also be decided by a UEFA draw on November 22nd (Daily Record). Therefore, it really is up in the air as to which of the Celtic stars will be at Euro 2020.

All three of Scotland, Israel, and Norway suffered poor results in their respective group stages. If Scotland beat Kazakhstan tonight, they’ll finish the group in third place. That would be the same position as Norway, who came behind Spain and Sweden respectively.

As for Israel, they could potentially end up in an embarrassing fifth place if they fail to beat North Macedonia tonight.

Scotland and Israel both faced each other back in the Nations League itself, with Scotland winning the group.

Another ex-Celt, Beram Kayal, could also be up against the current Hoops stars if UEFA draw Israel to face Scotland.

So we could see a good old battle between some top Celtic stars to see who qualifies for Euro 2020. Hopefully, from a biased perspective, it’s the Scottish Bhoys that get the job done.