How Josip Juranovic's World Cup run compares to past Celtic players

Josip Juranovic's World Cup dream has come to an end after Croatia were defeated 3-0 by Argentina in Tuesday night's semi-final.

The 27-year-old performed exceptionally during the tournament in Qatar and his stock has undoubtedly risen as a result.

However, he and his team-mates were unable to stop a Lionel Messi-inspired La Albiceleste masterclass.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward put on one of the best individual displays ever seen at the international spectacle and there is no shame in the Croatians departing the competition as a consequence.

Juranovic quite rightly received critical acclaim for his performances, particularly against Brazil in the quarter-finals, but how does his march to the last four compare with other Celts who have made it to the latter stages?

Let's take a look...

Bertie Peacock (Northern Ireland, 1958)

The defender was the first-ever Celtic player to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

His country came through a group containing Czechoslovakia, West Germany and Argentina.

They ultimately fell to eventual third-place side France in the last eight, losing 4-0 in Sweden.

Packie Bonner & Chris Morris (Republic of Ireland, 1990)

The Irish duo reached the quarter-finals of the 1990 iteration of the tournament.

Three draws - against England, Egypt and the Netherlands - were enough to put Jack Charlton's side into the last 16, where they then defeated Romania on penalties.

Hosts Italy ultimately knocked them out en route to a third-place finish but both Celts gave a good account of themselves and each of them played every minute of the competition.

Bonner also featured for at USA 94, where the Irish were knocked out by the Netherlands in the second round.

Marc Rieper (Denmark, 1998)

The centre-back was the fourth Celtic player to reach the last eight of a World Cup when Denmark progressed to the quarter-finals in 1998.

While talking about Scandinavian sides, an honourable mention must go to Henrik Larsson, who finished third with Sweden in America four years earlier. However, the King of Kings had not yet signed for the Scottish champions at that stage.

But back to Rieper and the Danes. They beat Saudi Arabia and drew with South Africa before losing to eventual winners France to finish second in their group.

Following that, they thrashed Nigeria 4-1 to make it to the latter stages. They were ultimately knocked out by finalists Brazil after a hotly-contested game that ended 3-2 to the holders thanks to a Rivaldo brace.

Henrik Larsson & Johan Mjallby (Sweden, 2002)

The two Swedes reached the round of 16 in 2002, having come through a tough group that included England, Argentina and Nigeria.

They departed the knockout stages thanks to Senegal, with future Celtic striker Henri Camara scoring both goals for the African side. Larsson also netted for his country in the match.

Ki Sung-yueng (South Korea, 2010)

The Hoops midfielder's country reached the second round in South Africa after progressing through a group which contained Argentina, Greece and Nigeria. 

Eventual semi-finalists Uruguay ultimately had too much for the Asian side in the next round as they ran out 2-1 winners with Luis Suarez netting a double.

Edson Braafheid (Netherlands, 2010)

Remarkably, the accolade of the furthest a Hoops player has ever progressed at the World Cup belongs to someone who struggled for game-time at Celtic.

The Dutch full-back arrived on loan on the first of February 2010 during a torrid season for the Parkhead club. Tony Mowbray's tenure in charge was about to come to an end and the defender proved to be his final signing.

The Bayern Munich loanee made only 12 appearances for Celtic and departed at the end of the 2009-10 campaign.

However, given the extension of the playing season due to the World Cup in South Africa, he technically remained on the Hoops' books until the end of the tournament and is listed on the FIFA website as such.

The Netherlands had a sensational tournament which saw them win every game on their way to the final, including impressive victories against Brazil in the quarter-finals and Suarez's Uruguay in the last four.

In the end the impressive Spanish side, which remains the only team to have won two European championships and a World Cup in successive fashion, proved to be too much for Bert van Marwijk's men.

Despite his disappointing spell at Parkhead, Braafheid came on as a sub in extra time to make history as the furthest a Celtic player has gone at the World Cup.

Georgios Samaras (Greece, 2014)

The Hoops cult hero scored a dramatic late penalty to help his country progress to the last 16 of the tournament in Brazil. 

They finished second in a group containing Colombia, Japan and Ivory Coast before surprise package Costa Rica then defeated them on penalties.

Efe Ambrose (Nigeria, 2014)

The African Cup of Nations holders from the previous year reached the second round in 2014.

They qualified out of a group containing eventual finalists Argentina, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran, taking four points from three matches.

France ultimately knocked them out of the tournament.

Mikael Lustig (Sweden, 2018)

The Swedish fan favourite had a storied international career and, ahead of what would be his final season at Parkhead, he competed in the World Cup in Russia.

The Swedes reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, coming through a group that included Germany, Mexico and South Korea.

After beating Switzerland 1-0 in the round of 16, they came up against England next. Gareth Southgate's side just had too much for them in the end as they ran out 2-0 winners.

Dedryck Boyata (Belgium, 2018)

After a positive second campaign under Brendan Rodgers, the centre-back forced himself into Roberto Martinez's squad for the tournament in Russia.

He played every minute of the group stages as the Red Devils defeated Tunisia, Panama and England.

However, he was dropped for the knockout stages and never retained his place as the Belgians finished third in the competition.

World Cup 2022

This year's tournament saw four Celts - Cameron Carter-Vickers (USA), Aaron Mooy (Australia), Daizen Maeda (Japan) and Juranovic - make the finals with all of them qualifying for the last 16.

Juranovic made it further, though, with the USA and Australia falling at the first knockout round and Japan succumbing to Croatia themselves at the same stage.

Arguably, the right-back has surpassed all of the players in this list, even Braafheid, as rather than simply making a substitute appearance he contributed to a large extent in every single game he played in.

Indeed, Juranovic has played every minute of every game ahead of Saturday's third-place play-off. With the quirk of actual stoppage time in Qatar, that amounts to 656 minutes of action. He averaged 5.2 interceptions per 90 during the run to the semis including a gargantuan 11 against Belgium and nine apiece against Brazil and Canada. 

His future may be uncertain at the moment but the tournament in Qatar showed one thing above all else: the 27-year-old is a quality player.

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