Celtic’s Scottish heroes will be provided with some key intel ahead of their clash against Serbia tomorrow, with club-mate Mohamed Elyounoussi on the task.
Elyounoussi was part of the Norway side who disappointed against Serbia in the Euro 2020 playoff semi-final last month. The Norwegians lost 2-1 at home to Scotland’s upcoming foes, in what was a bit of a surprise result given how well Moi’s nation had been doing.
Tomorrow night, it’s the turn of Ryan Christie, Callum McGregor, and Leigh Griffiths to come up against the technically gifted Serbs in a must-win game. Victory for the Hoops trio with Scotland would end a 22-year wait for a spot at a major international tournament.
And over 1400 miles away from Serbia’s Rajko Mitic Stadium, Elyounoussi will be providing his team-mates with some intel from Oslo.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Moi said: “Norway did not have our best match when we played them in the play-off semi final last month, but Kris and myself have experience of playing against them and we know how to hurt Serbia. I will give my teammates like Callum and Ryan that information on Serbia. It will be a tough match because Serbia are a very good team and they have some great players, some very talented individuals.
“But we will give that info away to my teammates. Anything can happen because it is a playoff final. I think Serbia has a lot of experience and I would have to say that they are the favourites to get to the Euros.
“But Scotland are looking strong at the moment and they are on a very good run of form at the moment. So anything can happen. I would be so happy for Callum, Ryan and everyone if Scotland can win and go to the Euros. I will have the opportunity to watch the game and I will be cheering Scotland on.”
Another sign that there’s no dressing room unrest
One of the big talking points in recent weeks has been about the supposed dressing room unrest at Parkhead. When performances have been as poor as they are, question marks in that sense get asked.
However, this is yet another sign that there are no real issues in that regard. The support Elyounoussi has for the Scottish Celts doesn’t of course give us the full picture of relationships within the squad. But it’s yet another sign that the Hoops have a positive atmosphere behind the scenes.
In terms of the international scenes, we want as many of our players doing as well as possible. Therefore, it’s important for the Celtic stars to help out their teammates whenever they can. This is great to see from Elyounoussi, and no doubt Kris Ajer will be getting involved too.
Norway have some big matches of their own this weekend and heading into next week. Back-to-back wins against Romania and Austria would help them secure top spot in their Nations League group and ultimately secure a playoff spot for the World Cup in 2022.
Hopefully, Scotland and Norway can both produce and get the results they require. If they do, then Celtic will have as many as five first-team regulars coming back feeling good about themselves. That’s all we can ask for ahead of the international break.
Then again, making sure they come back injury-free will forever be the main priority regardless of the importance of the fixtures.
In other news, a report from Italy has suggested that a long drawn-out Celtic saga is about to continue in January.
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