Opinion: Battle of Celtic midfielders could be intriguing to witness

Two of Celtic‘s most important players could be set for a midfield battle with a World Cup place on the line before the Hoops play Rangers.

On March the 24th, Australia take on Japan, and Celtic players could be in the starting line-up for both games. Tom Rogic has been called up for Australia, whilst Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda are in the Japan squad.

Obviously Celtic fans will be hoping that during the international break that none of the Hoops players in action get injured, but it would be interesting to see how Rogic and Hatate would get on in competition against each other in the middle of the park.

Whoever wins that battle could win the game and help their country reach the World Cup in Qatar. That could encourage Celtic fans to watch the game. There will be more than a few Celtic players in action during the international break, and some of them will be playing in very big games with places in the World Cup for the line.

Perhaps some of the Celtic players who are able to help their side reach the World Cup will gain confidence to take into the rest of the season, as reaching a World Cup is a huge deal for any country.

The scheduling of the international break is certainly intriguing, as the first game after it is the aforementioned Glasgow derby against Rangers at Ibrox on the 3rd of April.

Interestingly, Hatate was not called up for the last Japanese squad, and that allowed him to dominate the last Glasgow derby. It will be intriguing to see if those Celtic players that are away with Australia and Japan feature from the start at Ibrox or are left on the bench.

Celtic have the squad to cope with putting Hatae, Maeda and Rogic on the bench, but that might also take away from playing the best team on the day. That