Nightmare World Cup showing sees Celtic target Damian Bobadilla hooked at half time

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Celtic target Damian Bobadilla had a nightmare opener to the World Cup as he scored an own goal and was substituted at half time for Paraguay.

Celtic’s interest in Bobadilla was reported in March, with several English clubs also in the race.

This summer’s tournament is the perfect opportunity for the midfielder, to put himself in the shop window, but it simply couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.

Facing a host nation in the United States, they were blown away in the first half, eventually losing 4-1.

USA 4-1 Paraguay: Celtic target Damian Bobadilla’s own goal

With just six minutes on the clock, Christian Pulisic raced into the Paraguayan box before shifting it to Weston McKennie.

In instance of rotten luck, McKennie’s attempt to square it deflected off a backwards-rushing Bobadilla into the net.

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It didn’t get any better than there for Bobadilla. He was dribbled past four times, more than any other player on the park, despite only playing for 45 minutes.

He had just 16 touches of the ball.

Now in his third year with Sao Paulo, he is being tipped for a move to Europe. Brighton and Brentford have also been credited with an interest in the Paraguay international.

Clearly, such interest indicates that he is a much better player than he showed in Los Angeles. On paper, he is part of one of the best Paraguay teams in years.

Despite the presence of big-money players Julian Enciso, Diego Gomez and Miguel Almiron, they fell desperately short against the hosts.

Turkey and Australia are the other two sides in Group D, the pair face off in Vancouver immediately after Scotland’s opener against Haiti.

He is 24 and has made over 100 appearances for Sao Paulo. He would unlikely come cheap.

South American expert on Damian Bobadilla to Celtic links

Speaking exclusively to 67 Hail Hail, South American football expert Nathan Joyes gave a summmary of what Bobadilla would bring to Celtic.

He said: “Dangerous around the opponent’s final third, Bobadilla enjoys a long strike from range, but also thrives when pressing high and getting into areas that will hurt the opponent – both when in and out of possession.

“A creative outlet but one that isn’t shy to help his team out, Bobadilla has shown more at international level that he can be technical but work hard defensively too.

“If you were to force a negative from me, his defensive numbers could be improved, but it isn’t his main role – allow Bobadilla to play and have a free role and he’ll excel.”