New Celtic Bhoy Gustaf Lagerbielke has been called up for the Sweden national team for competitive matches for the very first time.
Lagerbielke has one cap to his name, but that came in a friendly against Iceland back in January. He wasn’t included in subsequent international squads in March and June.
However, he’s now been given the nod by manager Janne Andersson for this month’s qualifiers against Estonia and Austria in a defensive line-up that also includes former Celtic star Carl Starfelt and Manchester United man Victor Lindelof.
He’s one of a number of players who will be flying off around the world over the next week to represent their countries after Sunday’s derby success.
Lagerbielke played all 90 minutes of the win at Ibrox and will have learned a lot from the experience. He’s been at the centre of VAR controversy in the media today despite being clearly fouled by Cyriel Dessers in the build-up to a disallowed Rangers goal.
It was undoubtedly a shaky moment for the Swede, but he managed to rebound and show defensive resilience in the second half alongside Liam Scales.
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Lagerbielke is unlikely to get too much game time with his country during this international window, but the training environment and break from Scottish football madness will serve him well before returning to Lennoxtown and a potential appearance at home to Dundee.
He’ll also get to swap notes with Starfelt after his compatriots exit from Celtic to Spain this summer. I’m sure a few pointers and some advice will be given!
In other news, Brendan Rodgers explains Paulo Bernardo and Nat Phillips situations after Celtic derby absence.