Round Up: How Old Firm stars fared during latest international break ahead of return to club action this weekend

Yes, its that time again... Scottish Premiership stars are returning to their respective clubs after another busy international break, with both Old Firm clubs preparing for Premier Sports Cup semi-final clashes this weekend.

Several key players from Rangers and Celtic jetted off to meet up with their national teams ahead of important World Cup Qualifying matches.

GlasgowWorld takes an in depth look at how all of the Old firm stars fared during their time away with their countries:

Scotland booked their place among the six seeded teams for a World Cup play-off semi-final after ending their qualification campaign with victories over Moldova and Denmark.

Steve Clarke’s men travelled to Chisnau last Friday and came away with a 2-0 victory that cemented the runner-up spot in Group F, with a match to spare.

It was a night that Rangers defender Nathan Patterson won’t forget for a long time as he netted his first goal for his country as he capped off a terrific move to convert the Scots’ second goal of the evening.

Patterson did however earn himself a booking that ruled him out of Monday’s game with Denmark through suspension.

Celtic skipper Callum McGregor bossed proceedings in the middle of the park against the nation ranked 139 places below Scotland in the world rankings, while their was a late substitute appearance for midfielder David Turnbull.

The Scots knew a victory over the Danes in front of a sell-out crowd at Hampden Park three days later would clinch a vital home play-off semi-final tie and what a performance they delivered!

Goals from John Souttar and Che Adams in either half secured a sixth competitive victory in succession for the first time since 1930.

To a man, Scotland were superb on the night from the first whistle with McGregor running the show alongside Billy Gilmour and John McGinn, with former Hoops stars Kieran Tierney, Ryan Christie and Craig Gordon also featuring from the start.

Celtic full-back Anthony Ralston, called up to the national team for the first time in place of the suspended Patterson, made his debut in the closing minutes as a late substitute for Tierney.

Also in Group F, Hoops duo Nir Bitton and Liel Abada were both in action for Israel against Austria and Faroe Island. Bitton started both matches, scoring in a 4-2 defeat to Austria with Abada used as a second-half substitute in either contest.

Elsewhere across Europe, Celtic defender Josip Juranovic started both qualifiers for Croatia at right-back and helped his team-mates to a 7-1 rout of Malta before booking their place at the Qatar 2022 finals with a crucial 1-0 victory over Russia, that saw them overtake Valeri Karpin’s side as Group H winners.

Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara was unable to prevent Finland from narrowly missing out on a play-off semi-final spot. After playing 90 minutes in their 3-1 victory over Bosnia, Kamara lined-up against France last night knowing a victory would see them finish in second place in Group D.

Instead, they crashed to a 2-0 defeat against Les Bleus, allowing Ukraine to pip them to the runners-up position by a solitary point.

Light Blues playmaker Ianis Hagi endured a frustrating week with Romania as he featured for 90 minutes during a 0-0 draw with Iceland that meant they could not catch North Macedonia in second spot. Hagi subsequently lost his place in the starting XI but was a 74th minute substitute in their 2-0 win over Liechtenstein to end their Group J campaign.

Celtic striker Albian Ajeti may have missed out on a call-up to the Switzerland side due to his lack of recent game time but Rangers loanee Cedric Itten was rewarded for his impressive for with Bundesliga 2 outfit Greuther Furth with a late appearance off the bench during their 4-0 victory over Bulgaria.

Gers midfielder Steven Davis skippered Northern Ireland to a 1-0 win over Lithuania on his 131st cap and was part of a heroic performance from Ian Baraclough’s side to hold Euro 2020 winners Italy to a goalless draw at Windsor Park as they finished their Group C campaign in third place.

In Asia, Hoops sensation Kyogo Furuhashi made two substitute appearances for Japan as they recorded back-to-back 1-0 qualifying victories over Vietnam and Oman respectively.

Perhaps the most eye-catching for Rangers fans was the performance of striker Fashion Sakala as he netted FOUR goals in two games for Zambia.

The 24-year-old celebrated a hat-trick during their 4-0 win over Mauritania before converting a consolation in their 3-1 loss to Tunisia.

Ibrox duo Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo started both of Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers against Liberia (2-0) and Cape Verde (1-1), with centre-back Balogun playing all 180 minutes as they Eagles picked up four points.

In the North/Central America section, Kemar Roofe started Jamaica's 1-1 draw with El Salvador but came off with an injury and played no part in the 1-1 draw with USA just three days later.