Come Fly with Me – International Week

Ross Hall reviews how things went for the Bhoys on tour

As discussed in the Substack chat this is just a wee update on what some of our Bhoys done while they were out on international duty.

I’ve covered some of the youth players in the chat, sadly not many positives on that front, especially for the Scottish lads. Just mirroring the struggles of the senior team.

So, lets see what our senior players got up to….

PLAYERS:

Kasper Schmeichel: Denmark vs Portugal (2 legs)

Ouch, a really big ouch. Over 210 minutes for the Danish team vs Portugal who started off with a great 1-0 win at home. Sadly, for Kasper they ended up on the receiving end of a 5-2 loss after Extra Time in the away leg. Kasper saved a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty early in the away leg. The Danes got ahead shortly after. Portugal then scored 2, before Christian Eriksen scored to make it 2-2 and while it was one way traffic towards Kaspers goal it looked like the Dane might just hang on. It was the 83^rd minute when Francisco Trincao scored to take the game to extra time and it was during extra time that Kasper dived low to his right and was done, or at least he should have been. Clearly injured and with limited movement in his shoulder he carried on as the Danes couldn’t make a sub. Portugal went on to win 5-3, God knows what they’d have done if somehow the Danes had taken it to penalties.

Sadly, the heroics haven’t done him, us or the Danes any favours as reports suggest he’s done for this season and just to top that off there is now a press furore in Denmark because a sports reporter used some references to suggest that Kasper is carrying a bit of excess timber.


Viljami Sinisalo: Finland vs Malta (A) and Lithuania (A)

Got a holiday and I want to say splinters on his arse, but subs benches look so comfortable these days, which kind of kills that expression at this level of football.

Hopefully it was a good set of sessions for him, as he’s now just become our number 1 for the remainder of the season.

Alastair Johnston: Canada vs Mexico and USA (both games played in the USA)

Vs Mexico to me AJ looked knackered. A lot of what he done was delayed or at times sloppy. It wasn’t for lack of effort, he just looked like a guy who has played a lot of games and who had flown across the globe.

The game vs the wannabe dictators of his homeland was much improved. AJ looked fresher, more engaged and had a lot to contend with as the trio of Diego Luna, Timo Weah and Christian Pulisic all had a go on the left for the USA team and AJ dealt with most things really well.

The thing for us to consider is that was a big journey for AJ and he played over 180 minutes and is well on track for 60 games from the end of last season to the end of this season.

Cameron Carter-Vickers: USA vs Panama and Canada (H)

vs Panama, a night in one of those comfortable seats on the bench as the USA got humbled in a 1-0 loss.

Vs Canada. CCV was fine, won most of his duels as he played the full 90. Positioning at times was a bit slack but the entire USA team was pretty poor on the night and the 2-1 loss could have easily been 3 or 4 if Jonathan David and co had been a bit more clinical.

Anthony Ralston: Scotland vs Greece (2 legs)

1^st leg in Greece you could make an argument for Raldo being MOTM. Dealt with Tzolis and made a blocking tackle that stopped Greece from scoring late on. His all-round play was sound and he’d have likely entered the 2^nd leg feeling pretty good.

2^nd leg at Hampden. An unsurprising Scotland horror show. Ralston along with all of his team mates struggled. Tzolis and Giannoulis owned the left side of the pitch as Greece time and time again exploited both wings to cause Scotland problems.

The positive is that’s over 180 minutes of game time under his belt and given the load we’ve put on AJ it’s good that we now have a sharper Ralston behind him if Brendan Rodgers wants to rotate things.

Reo Hatate: Japan vs Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (H)

Nice jaunt home for Reo and hopefully the 16 minutes he got vs Saudia Arabia off the bench means he’s fresh for the weekend.

Yang Hyun-Jun: South Korea vs Oman and Jordan (H)

33 minutes over the 2 games, no real impact in either. The South Korean have become quite dull to watch and I’m not sure anyone could have come on and lifted the games for them.

Adam Idah: Rep. Ireland vs Bulgaria (2 legs)

Adam sat in the comfy seats for the 1^st leg and then exploded into the 2^nd leg at home with his late substitute appearance. He looked sharp and entered the game with a look of a man with a point to prove. Scored the winner, point made and he discussed it after the match. Hopefully a nice wee boost for him to bring back to Lennoxtown and take into the upcoming games.

Daizen Maeda: Japan vs Bahrain and Saudi Arabia (H)

Daizen was named on the bench for the first game but was never going to play as he recovered from heavy bruising suffered in the derby game. He then started vs Saudi Arabia and had a decent game. Missed a sitter early on, then cracked the post with a good run and shot, but despite Japan dominated the game but the Saudi team was resilient and the attacking trio for Japan never really got into a rhythm. Daizen came off after 73 minutes, so a decent run out for him.

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The bhoys out on loan:

Lagerbielke has played his way back into the Sweden squad and got on as a late sub vs N. Ireland and Lusi Palma played in both legs for Honduras vs Bermuda. Scored 2 and got 1 assist as Honduras won 7-3.

Overall, it’s been a mixed bag for our Bhoys in terms of results. A few come home with confidence. Daizen and Reo can look forward to the World Cup in 2026 having become the 1^st team to officially qualify, but the real note is Kaspers injury and the issues that may present. Obviously, we have high hopes for Sinisalo, but from the club point of view they have to look at various scenarios and consider the outcomes. Sinisalo has a really big opportunity here, lets hope he puts those gloves on and grasps it with both hands.