Jason Denayer made his international debut in Israel last night- and handed the credit to Celtic.
Less than three years after claims of Armageddon the young Belgian defender believes that pulling on the hoops has turned him from prospect to player in the international game.
A 62nd minute red card for Vincent Kompany saw Denayer thrown in at the deep end as he was pitched into the action with Belgium hanging on thanks to an early goal from Marouane Fellani.
Celtic team-mate Nir Bitton played the full 90 minutes despite a weekend injury scare but after making a winning debut for his nation Denayer couldn’t hide his delight.
“Now I’m really a Red Devil,” he stated. “This is what I had hoped for since I was first called into the international squad, I’m very happy.
“It was difficult going onto the park when we were down to ten men but I’m a defender and I’m used to dealing with high balls from playing in Scotland.
“Before I went on the pitch the coach told me to be ready for anything, to play like I do for Celtic. There wasn’t time for the team to think that this was my debut, everyone realised how important it was to win the match.
“They helped me through the game, there was a lot of pressure but we emerged with full points.”
With Kompany suspended for the next match, away to Wales, Denayer is in pole position to replace the Manchester City man for the clash between the top two teams in Group B.