Nilson Angulo continued his stunning rise since being the subject of offers from Celtic by starring in Ecuador’s win over Germany.
Largely named as one of the tournament’s dark horses, Ecuador had it all to do in their final group stage match — only a win against the European giants would allow progression.
If their first two matches hadn’t lived up to the hype, they more than made up for it by coming from behind to win 2-1 before a fervent crowd in New Jersey.
At the centre of it was Angulo, who was named man-of-the-match for a stunning display.
What is the one player you wish that Celtic had signed?
Nilson Angulo named MOTM after stunning goal in Germany win
Ecuador were given even more of a mountain to climb when Leroy Sane’s opener was awarded, despite what looked like a blatant high boot in the build-up.
Their hope was salvaged by Angulo’s stunning equaliser which flew beyond Manuel Neuer.
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Level at the break and in need of a goal, the Ecuadorians came flying at the Germans in the second half, eventually turning the score around through Goncalo Plata.
They are now guaranteed progression as one of the best third-place teams, set to play either Mexico or England in the next round.
As for Celtic’s interest in Angulo, news emerged from Ecuador that Anderlecht had rejected a bid from the Hoops for the player last summer.
The offer was reportedly deemed financially insufficient.
At that point, the winger was coming off the back of a season in which he had scored just one league goal and made the majority of his appearances from the bench.
Since then, his status has skyrocketed. After remaining in Belgium through the window, Angulo’s numbers exploded, resulting in a £15 million move to Sunderland in January.
He helped the Black Cats to an unlikely European qualification, and with the World watching on Thursday, he showed exactly why Celtic were interested.
Unfortunately, that winger search ended with the arrival of Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
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Celtic’s dreadful summer recruitment last year
The club’s summer business last year was so poor that it eventually led to the departure of Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers described Hayato Inamura and Shin Yamada as ‘club signings’, though the suggestion that the pair were signed without the endorsement of the manager was strongly refuted by Dermot Desmond.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey made just one Celtic appearance after joining on loan from Manchester City. He has just moved to FC Koln for £5 million.
The worst of the lot was probably the aforementioned Balikwisha, who cost £4.5 million but started just three games all season.
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