How Celtic's four World Cup stars exceeded expectations

Celtic's representatives have enjoyed a successful World Cup so far. 

Aaron Mooy's Australia, Daizen Maeda's Japan, Cameron Carter-Vickers's USA and Josip Juranovic's Croatia have all qualified for the last 16 of the tournament in Qatar.

Some of the Hoops players, in particular, have been involved in giant killings, so to speak, and each of them has contributed greatly to their country's success during the international spectacle.

With the group stages now wrapped up for them, let's take a look at each player's journey to the knockouts...

Cameron Carter-Vickers (USA)

The Parkhead centre-back did not feature in the first two matches of the tournament. He was an unused sub as America drew against Wales and England.

However, he came into his own in the final group-stage fixture against Iran.

The 24-year-old was calm and controlled in his first-ever World Cup appearance as he helped his side to a 1-0 victory against Iran.

According to Wyscout, the former Spurs man had a passing accuracy of 92 per cent in the match, won 65 per cent of his overall duels and four out of his eight aerial duels.

In short, the defender was effective both at the back and going forward.

He did not look out of place during his time on the pitch and has put himself in contention for a starting place against the Netherlands in the next round.

It will be a tough fixture for the USA but, given Louis van Gaal's men's tendency to blow hot and cold, it is not impossible that Carter-Vickers and his team-mates may reach the quarter-finals.

Aaron Mooy (Australia)

The Celtic midfielder and the Socceroos as a whole have outperformed their expectations at this tournament.

Given they were drawn in a group that included world champions France and Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark, Graham Arnold's men have performed somewhat of a miracle by managing to reach the last 16. 

Mooy featured in all three games and was particularly influential during the 1-0 win over the Danes.

Wyscout data from the qualification clincher shows that, while his pass completion was hardly spectacular at 68 per cent, he contributed with five interceptions (bringing his tally for the three group games to a superb 18) and made half of his total recoveries in the opposition half.

He was integral in a result that put everyone on notice. A result that demonstrated Australian football can thrive at the highest level.

They take on Argentina in the knockout stages and, while that will undoubtedly be a tough tie, the Aussies have already shown they are capable of causing a shock.

Daizen Maeda (Japan)

The Samurai Blue have been the surprise package of the tournament in Qatar so far.

When the draw came out, pitting them against Spain, Germany and Costa Rica, it is not unfair to say that even Japan's manager, Hajime Moriyasu, would have been surprised to learn that his side's six points would come against the two European teams.

Maeda started both games against the giants of international football and while he did not score his contribution, particularly in the fixture against Spain, was clear to see. 

Despite playing as the main forward, Wyscout notes that he won 57 per cent of his duels against the Spaniards in very much a defensive performance from the 25-year-old.

His pressing while on the pitch meant that while the Spaniards had a lot of the ball, the game was played mostly in front of Japan's whole team.

This allowed them to be resolute and wait for their opportunity to strike on the counter-attack and they did exactly that.

Two second-half goals, one of which was a controversial VAR-contested finish, gave Japan a historic victory and they now have their sights set on Croatia as they look to reach the last eight for the second World Cup in a row.

Josip Juranovic (Croatia)

The Croats were probably viewed as providing the most likely chance of a Celt reaching the last 16 before the tournament started.

Belgium were the favourites in their group with Morocco and Canada being somewhat unknown quantities to an international audience.

Juranovic, like Mooy before him, has featured in all three fixtures so far and has played his part.

Croatia finished in second place with five points after going undefeated in their group.

After an assist against the Canadians Juranovic put in a strong display in the draw with Belgium.

Against the second-best-ranked team in the world, the Celtic full-back completed 77 per cent of his passes but even more impressively intercepted the ball 11 times and made nine recoveries.

He will come up against his Parkhead team-mate Maeda in the next round, which means Ange Postecoglou's men are guaranteed to have at least one representative in the World Cup quarter-finals.

This piece is an extract from today’s Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out every weekday evening with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team. 

To receive our full, free newsletter including this analysis straight to your email inbox the day BEFORE it appears on the website, click here and tick the box for The Celtic Digest