Celtic kept their Scottish Premiership title chances alive as they beat Aberdeen 2-1 at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.
The Hoops’ hopes had been severely hit after they took just one point from their two previous fixtures before the trip to Aberdeen, which left them eight points adrift of leaders Hearts, albeit with a game in hand.
After winning that match against the managerless outfit, Martin O’Neill’s men leapfrogged Old Firm rivals Rangers into second, and now lie five points behind Derek McInnes’ men.
Celtic‘s next laegue game isn’t until a week on Saturday though, against Jens Berthel Askou’s impressive Motherwell side at Parkhead, as they first face Rangers for the second time in a week in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.
Despite picking up the three points in midweek, O’Neill needs to consider making some changes to his XI in the coming weeks.
Time to Drop Tomas Cvancara
Celtic struggled to find a first-choice striker who could perform consistently like they needed him to in the first half of the season, so there was relief when they landed Tomas Cvancara on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach in the closing hours of the January transfer window.
With the buy option said to be worth £7m for the 25-year-old, he arrived with the anticipation that he would hit the ground running at Paradise.
While he did pick up an assist and a goal in his first two Scottish Premiership appearances for the Hoops, he has been less impressive since with no goals and one assist in his seven outings since.
O’Neill decided to drop Cvancara for the Old Firm derby on Sunday and he remained an unused substitute, before returning to the XI at Pittodrie.
The striker failed to impress again with his display described as ‘forgettable’. While he has shown some presence and good hold-up play in the centre-forward role, he hasn’t shown the penalty box scoring instinct that Celtic forwards need to.
The Bhoys need a striker they can rely on for goals in the title race, and Cvancara simply isn’t that man right now, which also raises doubts over him making a permanent move to the club.
Celtic’s other options this term in Johnny Kenny, now on loan at Bolton, Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho have also shown they are not up to the task.
O’Neill Must Use Nygren in Striker Role
Where would Celtic be without Benjamin Nygren this season?
The £2m Swede took his Scottish Premiership goal tally to 15 for the season as he was once again the hero with the winner against Aberdeen, while he has 19 goals and seven assists in 46 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops this term.
To put Celtic’s issues in front of goal into context, Daizen Maeda is their second top scorer in 2025-26 with eight.
While Nygren is used to playing in an attacking midfield role or on the wing, O’Neill needs to start a player in such fine goalscoring form up top instead.
It is something that has happened on a couple of occasions already this season, but now it needs to become a more permanent option as you simply can’t ignore his form.
The 24-year-old has seven goals in his previous nine Scottish Premiership appearances, showing the prolific goalscoring ability that is needed.
Playing Nygren there regularly would allow Cvancara more time out of the limelight as he looks to adapt to life at Celtic Park.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexi Lalas’ interactions have been a highlight of the 2026 World Cup, but not necessarily for the reasons many would’ve expected.
The pair’s time on FOX Sports’ coverage of the major sporting event has led to several viral clips already, with Thierry Henry often looking shocked at what his co-hosts say to each other. But it’s not simply a tension-filled relationship for the cameras, according to an inside source.
It has been claimed there is a real ‘hatred’ between the two, who are known to be outspoken and egotistical. They both got the better of one another at different moments, leading to huge entertainment for fans watching on.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexi Lalas’ Rivalry
Zlatan Ibrahimovic via REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
Lalas landed the first viral clip of the World Cup as he labelled British comedian and TV personality James Corden a ‘full kit w*****’, leaving Ibrahimovic and Henry shocked.
Thierry Henry is left in stitches as Alexi Lalas gets revenge on fellow pundit Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the 2026 World Cup
“It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence. Ignorant people will say it’s arrogance, intelligent people will say it’s confidence,” he said. The former AC Milan and Barcelona star was then delighted when Lalas missed a show, excitedly putting across the message: “America, you’re welcome.”
Zlatan’s ‘Vendetta’ Amid Off-Screen Tensions With Lalas
A source has now told the Daily Mail that things aren’t much different when the cameras stop rolling. It has been claimed Ibrahimovic and Lalas ‘definitely don’t click’. Conversation off-camera is kept to a minimum and the pair don’t seem to get along. The source said:
“When they’re together off camera or during commercial breaks, conversation is usually limited to a little small talk, if that. More often than not, they’re buried in their notes or glued to their phones, scrolling through messages instead of interacting with one another.
“Zlatan and Alexi definitely don’t click. Zlatan gets under Alexi’s skin, and Alexi isn’t exactly a fan of his, but he’ll keep things professional and do what needs to be done.”
That dynamic has now been continued on screen, as the insider continued: “They’ll all get through it, but the tension isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. At the same time, everyone has started to lean into the friction because, whether they like it or not, it makes for pretty entertaining TV.”
It’s said to be an ‘awkward and uncomfortable’ environment. Ibrahimovic appears to be the driving force behind that, with his desire to always be right being mentioned.
The source continued: “Imagine being stuck in a room with your ex and the person they left you for. That’s pretty much the vibe whenever they’re all together. There’s an underlying tension that everyone can feel, making things awkward and uncomfortable no matter how hard they try to keep it professional.
“Zlatan is the oil in the water of it all, where everyone else is trying to get through it.
“But it seems Zlatan has a vendetta to have it be known that he is right when he makes his points and that he is the best in the room. It goes further than competition for him and he doesn’t really care if the rest doesn’t like him or not for it.”
Both Senegal and Iraq head into their final World Cup group-stage fixture this week with qualification for the knockout stages still a strong possibility, despite both nations having lost their opening two games. It has been a massively disappointing summer so far, especially for the Lions of Teranga, who arrived in the USA, Canada and Mexico with a dark-horse reputation.
Having proved their credentials by going all the way to win the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year (before a ruling later handed Morocco the title after Sadio Mane’s teammates broke a major rule by protesting the referee’s decisions during the final), many onlookers would have expected more than 3-1 and 3-2 defeats to France and Norway.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s 3-0 and 4-1 losses against the same opposition have cast even more doubt over their ability to mount a comeback.
Despite that, an explanation has emerged as to how both nations can still rescue their campaigns and reach the knockout stages from zero points.
How Senegal and Iraq Can Still Qualify for Knockouts from Zero Points
Given the scale of their defeats, many would assume Senegal and Iraq’s hopes of reaching the round of 32 are already over. In most other World Cup groups, that would be true, with Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia and Jordan all eliminated after losing their opening two matches. However, Group I presents a different scenario.
Despite their difficult starts, both Senegal and Iraq still have a pathway to the knockout stages heading into Friday night’s final round of fixtures. The reason is simple: the two sides face each other in their final group-stage match, creating what could effectively become a knockout game depending on results elsewhere in the tournament.
Under the expanded 2026 World Cup format, eight of the 12 teams that finish third in their groups will advance to the round of 32. According to FIFA, those teams are ranked first by points earned during the group stage. If teams are level on points, goal difference is used as the first tiebreaker, followed by goals scored if necessary.
As a result, both Senegal and Iraq remain firmly in contention. Victory in their final group match – particularly by a convincing margin – would improve their goal difference and strengthen their chances of claiming one of the tournament’s eight best third-placed spots.
Who They Could Face in Last 32
REUTERS/Mike Segar
As things stand, Senegal are the clear favourites to beat Iraq in their final Group I fixture, keeping alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Should they secure progression to the round of 32, their potential opponents are not yet confirmed.
However, based on the tournament bracket, a third-placed Senegal side would face one of the teams that finishes top of Groups A, B, D, G, K or L. At present, the leaders of those groups are Mexico (Group A), Canada (Group B), the United States (Group D), Egypt (Group G), Colombia (Group K) and England (Group L).
Just days before the knockout rounds of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA have launched a mission to change a significant rule for penalty shootouts.
The first post-group-stage matches will take place on Sunday, so a final decision will need to be made before then. It’s a significant development considering the 2022 version of the tournament was decided by spot kicks.
Argentina defeated France in that Qatar showdown, with Lionel Messi’s side also similarly getting past the Netherlands.
FIFA’s Proposed Penalty Shootout Change
It seems a rather simple alteration to the current rules, but could prove to make things fairer. FIFA have asked the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to change the pre-penalty routine according to The Times.
The governing body of world football want to remove one of the two coin tosses that currently take place. These are used to decide which goal is used for the shootout, and which team takes the first spot kick.
Under the new rule, there would only be one. The winner would choose whether they want to take the first kick or decide the goal.
