Four Celtic players who are at risk of missing out on a place at the 2026 World Cup

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Next year is a huge year for football on the international stage as the 2026 World Cup gets underway.

48 nations will compete for glory across Canada, Mexico and the USA to become the champions, four years on from when Argentina won the title.

Celtic have only had one World Cup winner play for them, Juninho Paulista, and a number of our stars will hope to join the exclusive club by winning with their own nations.

However, not everyone will get the chance to play at the tournament. Whether it be because of their nation’s failure to qualify, or the player not getting selected, some will be left disappointed.

67 Hail Hail looks at four players who may be at risk of not playing at the 2026 World Cup.

• READ MORE: Why Celtic fans need to start talking about Brendan Rodgers now and not just the board

Auston Trusty – USA

This season has been a difficult one for Auston Trusty so far.

Injuries have left the centre-back out of the picture, allowing Dane Murray to become the go-to centre-back replacement option.

Liam Scales is also impressing for Celtic, while Cameron Carter-Vickers is unlikely to be dropped.

Trusty will be hoping to finally return to action after the international break, but will have to hit the ground running. However, the competition to get into Mauricio Pochettino’s side makes it a difficult one.

Reo Hatate – Japan

Reo Hatate wasn’t picked for Japan’s October internationals, and didn’t feature in the September games either.

This might be because they have already qualified, but his Celtic teammate Daizen Maeda has been chosen for the two upcoming friendly games.

By his own admission, Hatate would say he has been nowhere near good enough this season and unless he starts to rediscover his best form, a place in the squad is under threat.

Arne Engels – Belgium

Arne Engels may be Celtic’s record signing, but he certainly isn’t first choice.

Benjamin Nygren has moved ahead in the pecking order and consigned Engels to a place on the bench.

The midfielder has also fallen out of favour with Belgium and not been picked for the last few squads.

Brendan Rodgers has defended Engels in the past, but the 22-year-old will almost certainly miss out if Belgium do qualify.

Hyunjun Yang – South Korea

Like Japan, South Korea have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup and preparations are already underway.

Hyunjun Yang has only been given a handful of chances this season but has not done enough to force his way into the starting XI.

Yang has played in some of the World Cup qualifiers for South Korea but wasn’t picked for their October games.

He also has to deal with Heung-min Son captaining and playing in the side ahead of him, making his chances of being included in the squad much harder.