Celtic winger Liel Abada is making an impression on his international duties with Israel. As we noted earlier in the week, the winger managed to get himself on the score sheet in a 2-2 draw at home to Israel.
It was a typical Abada goal, ghosting in at the back-post after peeling off the opposition, to neatly slot home from a teammate’s cross. Something we’ve seen many times in debut season at the Bhoys.
However, observers saw more in his game than just that, with 68-cap Israeli international Boni Ginzburg raving about the Celtic youngster’s display.
He told The Scottish Sun: “Liel was very good in the game. He scored but he also performed very well for the team. His goal… what can I say? He has that sense to be there. It’s the kind of thing you are born with. He has that sense to be in the position to score.
“But Liel impressed me in so many ways. He didn’t hold back against his opponents. He worked hard against the defenders and he attacked very well. For his first start for Israel, it was a very good performance by Liel and the goal just made it even more special.
“Liel now shows a lot of maturity in his game. He has learned a lot, even after just one season at Celtic. His time in Scotland has been good for him, but also for us. Liel plays in a very intense league, he has developed a lot and he showed all of that against Iceland.”
Liel Abada can improve further at Celtic
It’s easy to forget given his impact for club and country that Abada is still just 20. He’s performing at a level well beyond most of his peers at that age.
So while we can reflect on a fine debut campaign for him, we can also get excited about his potential and the improvement that’s in him over the next couple of years.
Working under Ange Postecoglou and getting regular football at Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and Champions League should do wonders for his development.
He’s by no means the finished product but, as Ginzburg alludes to, he has that natural attacking instinct that can make him such an effective player.
As he matures further and gains even more knowledge of the game, we could have an even more dangerous winger on our hands.
In other news, Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley gets his big chance in Denmark set-up.
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