Eight Celtic players headed to the United States of America, Mexico and Canada for the 2026 World Cup, and now only four remain.
There were 72 matches played during the group stages, with goals galore, a Lionel Messi hat-trick, advertising hydration breaks, minnows Cape Verde reaching the knockout stages, and even more goals.
67 Hail Hail has taken a look at how every Celtic player performed during the group stages, with Sebastian Tounekti enduring a nightmare with Tunisia, and Auston Trusty scoring on his first World Cup start for the USMNT.
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Alistair Johnston, Canada
Alistair Johnston has been earning rave reviews at this summer’s World Cup and has been the most active of all the Celtic players.
He started all three group matches, including Canada’s 6-0 win over nine-man Qatar, where Johnston was labelled ‘world-class.’
| Johnston’s games | Starts | Clean sheets | Sofascore rating | Qualified? |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 7.30 | Yes |
Are you worried Alistair Johnston’s World Cup performances results in him leaving Celtic? 😬🍀
Interest is growing as Johnston thrives with Canada… 🇨🇦
Daizen Maeda, Japan
One of the most exciting teams to watch at the World Cup have been Daizen Maeda’s Japan.
Just like Canada, Hajime Moriyasu’s side finished second in their group, with Maeda starting two of their three matches, including scoring against Sweden.
| Maeda’s games | Starts | Goals | Sofascore rating | Qualified? |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 7.10 | Yes |
Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston, Scotland
Scotland’s World Cup exit was confirmed on Saturday, and it led to Steve Clarke resigning from his post.
As expected, Anthony Ralston played around ten minutes from the bench, while Kieran Tierney started Scotland’s 1-0 defeat to Morocco, and was then brought on at half-time against Brazil.
Even though the Scots were humiliated by Brazil, Tierney was one of the better players, as he proved again that he should have played more minutes ahead of his declining skipper, Andy Robertson.
| Tierney’s games | Starts | Sofascore rating | Qualified? |
| 2 | 1 | 6.90 | No |
Celtic fans, will you be tuning into the 2026 World Cup?
🚨 A lot of off-field noise around it 🚨
Auston Trusty, USMNT
One start for Trusty, one goal. It was a moment to remember for the Celtic man, as he opened the scoring for the USMNT against Turkey with a neat finish at the back post.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side had already qualified, so he made lots of changes for their final group game, it ended in defeat, but a moment Trusty won’t forget.
Either way, the American, who previously came off the bench for his World Cup debut against Australia, still got positive reviews for his performance.
| Trusty’s games | Starts | Goals | Sofascore rating | Qualified? |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 7.0 | Yes |
Sebastian Tounekti, Tunisia
Look away now! It could be argued that Tunisia were one of the worst-performing teams at this summer’s World Cup, as everything and anything was going wrong.
Tunisia sacked their coach after an opening 5-1 defeat to Sweden, and then shipped seven more goals before leaving the world stage with zero points to their name.
Tounekti failed to make an impact. Starting just one match and then struggling to earn minutes.
| Tounekti’s games | Starts | Total minutes | Qualified? |
| 3 | 1 | 83 | No |
Hyunjun Yang, South Korea
Joining Tounekti, Tierney and Ralston on the flight back home to Glasgow is Hyunjun Yang.
Despite being one of Celtic’s most improved players last season, Yang didn’t earn much game time for South Korea, who only beat another eliminated side in Czechia, before failing to score against Mexico and South Africa.
- Hyunjun Yang’s games: 1
- Starts: 0
- Total minutes: 19
- Qualified? No
Benjamin Nygren, Sweden
Group F had a Celtic theme to it, with Benjamin Nygren coming out all smiles with his fellow club teammate, Maeda.
It will be interesting to see if Graham Potter starts Nygren during the knockout games, because Celtic’s top scorer was dropped to the bench for the final group match against Japan, in which Maeda scored.
Nonetheless, after starting Sweden’s World Cup campaign with a 5-1 win over Tunisia, their world came crashing down when the Netherlands tore them apart via the same scoreline days later.
- Nygren’s games: 3
- Starts: 2
- Sofascore rating: 6.47
- Qualified? Yes
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