Thirteen Rangers first-team players have been away on international duty during the break, with mixed fortunes across the globe. The break came after two victories over Celtic — a 3-0 win in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final and a 1-0 win at Parkhead that cut the gap at the Premiership summit to two points.
Naderi set for Czechia debut
Striker Ryan Naderi has been cleared to make his debut for the Czech Republic. The 23-year-old, born in Germany, qualifies through his parents and was sought out by Pavel Nedved, the 2003 Ballon d'Or winner and Czechia national team general manager. Naderi has signed off on the paperwork and is set to feature in Nations League clashes against Spain and England, having lost 2-0 to the latter on Tuesday.
Speaking about the call-up, Naderi said: "It's hard to describe, it's very personal for me. First of all, I'm incredibly proud to be here. And I'm proud of myself for how far I've come. Football is sometimes incredible, how quickly things can change. I'm at Glasgow Rangers, now in the Czech national team... I'm really grateful for that."
Raskin and Kim updates
Nico Raskin was praised in Belgium's 2-0 win over Italy but played only five minutes off the bench in the 1-0 defeat to France. Former international Steven Defour has urged boss Mark van Bommel to pick Chelsea's Romeo Lavia ahead of Raskin, telling Le Soir: "Raskin roams around a bit more, whereas the Red Devils need a player more focused on his position in front of the defence. When Lavia wins the ball, even under pressure, he plays it directly forward. Raskin can do it too, but for me, Lavia is better in every aspect and is the number one defensive midfielder, with Raskin as his backup, and Lavia will remain number one when Amadou Onana returns."
Minsu Kim's South Korea lost 4-1 to Uruguay, but the Rangers summer signing was introduced at half-time and helped his side claim a 1-1 draw in the second half. He played the last 15 minutes in the 3-0 defeat to Ecuador and will hope for a start against Venezuela on Friday.
Makhanya impresses for South Africa
Olwethu Makhanya has started both of South Africa's matches, with back-to-back wins against Guinea and Eritrea, including a 5-0 victory. The 22-year-old was praised by boss Pitso Mosimane after the Guinea win, who said: "These are guys who were a part of the World Cup, but did not play and we have to give them a chance to show themselves. Olwethu was up against a striker from Borussia Dortmund (Serhou Guirassy) who is full of quality and he handled him very well. So I was delighted at the win against a very good team and we now have players coming through who will be very important to this team."
Findlay Curtis provided four assists in Scotland U21's 5-2 win over Azerbaijan, while Kevin Kelsy scored his first goal for Venezuela in a 2-1 loss to Japan. Ivor Pandur remains uncapped for Croatia, serving as deputy to Dominik Livakovic. Djeidi Gassama started for Mauritania in a loss to Benin and a win over Central Africa. Emmanuel Fernandez has been an unused substitute for Nigeria. Bojan Miovski has appeared in both of North Macedonia's Nations League games, losing 3-0 to Switzerland and 2-0 to Slovenia. For Serbia, Kosta Nedeljkovic played the first hour of a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands, while Vanja Dragojevic has not featured. Goalkeeper Liam Kelly has been on the bench for Scotland in a 0-0 draw with Slovenia and a 3-0 defeat to Switzerland, and could battle Falkirk's Scott Bain for a place if Angus Gunn is replaced.
