Jackson Irvine reported for World Cup duty with Australia sporting a retro Celtic kit in honour of Mark Viduka.
The former Hoops youngster, who also had spells north of the border with Ross County and Hibs, is part of Graeme Arnold’s 26-man squad that will compete in Qatar this month. He’s joined by a clutch of other Premiership stars, including former Easter Road teammate Martin Boyle and Hearts trio Cammy Devlin, Kye Rowles and Nathaniel Atkinson.
And Irvine arrived in old school style. The St Pauli midfielder arrived in Doha wearing the Celtic home kit from the 1998/99 season with Viduka 37 on the back. The big striker is one of the best to have worn the green and gold for his country, going on to star in the English Premier League after leaving Glasgow in 2000. The Hoops signed the Aussie-Croatian from Dinamo Zagreb in 1998, scoring 41 goals in 48 appearances, earning himself a £6million move to Leeds United.
Six years layered, he captained Australia as they qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany - their first in 32 years. Viduka led the line as the Socceroos beat Japan 3-1 before a 2-0 defeat to Brazil. A 2-2 draw with Croatia - who Vidua could have also represented - set up a last clash with Italy that the Italians won thanks to a Francesco Totti penalty deep into stoppage time
Reaching the same stage in Qatar would no doubt be a success for Irvine as his teammates. Arnold’s men They kick-off their campaign against France on Tuesday 22 November before facing Tunisia four days later. Whether they make it out of Group D could come down to their final fixture against Denmark on 30 November.
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