Getting to a major tournament with your country would be the pinnacle of any Celtic player’s career, wouldn’t it?
Winning trophies at club level can only be topped by representing your country at either the Euros or a World Cup.
And it is my view that Celtic defender, Greg Taylor, may be in danger of missing out on a trip to Germany next summer because of his recent performances for Scotland.
Winding this back a wee bit, it is worth remembering that Taylor was not picked initially by Steve Clarke for this round of Scotland fixtures.
Injuries to Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson forced the Scotland manager’s hand after he said Taylor would be called upon if this scenario should happen.
True to his work, Clarke made the call which Taylor duly answered. But I don’t believe he’s improved his case of making the Euros after his performances against Georgia and Norway over the past five days.
Greg Taylor played well against the Georgians for Scotland
According to Fotmob, Taylor had a decent game against Georgia in the 2-2 draw. Rated 7.0, the Celtic defender played 79 minutes as Steve Clakre’s men picked up away from home.
Winning all of his aerial and ground battles, Taylor also made two ball recoveries, two clearances and completed four defensive actions.
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The Celtic defender also showed composure on the ball as out of his 52 passes, 87% of them found a teammate and he also made eight passes into the opponent’s final third.
A decent start to the international break and one that he should have been looking to build on to give Steve Clarke something to think about for Germany.
Taylor struggles as the Celtic defender toiled against Norway
But it was last night when Steve Clarke may have second thoughts about the Celtic fullback. Bearing in mind the Scotland manager has recently preferred Aaron Hickey ahead of Talyor, now that Hickey was injured, the 26-year-old had the perfect opportunity to show the form that the Celtic fans have been enjoying the past two seasons.
Unfortunately for Taylor, it just wasn’t meant to be his night. Clearly targeting Scotland’s left side of the defence, all of Norway’s goals came down Taylor’s side as he struggled to cope with the pace and energy of Norway’s, Oscar Bobb.
Garnering a 5.7 from Fotmob, the Hoops defender struggled to better or even match his Georgia performance.
Winning just two out of his five ground duels, Taylor was also dispossessed on one occasion as he struggled to contain the Norwegian attacks.
Taylor’s passing accuracy dropped to 78% and none of his five crosses met a Scotland jersey. However he did complete four defensive actions and made two ball recoveries so his performance wasn’t a total bust.
But if he was hoping that Clarke may choose him to accompany Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney over Aaron Hickey next summer, Taylor may well need to brace himself for some disappointment unless he can produce some magic in the next international window.
In other news, ‘Exemplary’… Michael Stewart says Celtic have a ‘wonderful footballer’ after watching Scotland last night