By JOHN MCGARRY AT CELTIC PARK

Published: 22:50, 19 February 2026 | Updated: 22:50, 19 February 2026

There was a moment on Wednesday when Martin O’Neill could have passed for a geography teacher as he scanned the room looking for someone to come up with the right answer.

The place in question was Istanbul. The Celtic manager was not, however, issuing a test to the assembled media but asking for help.

It probably said a great deal about how the veteran viewed Celtic’s chances of reaching the Europa League final this year that he hadn’t even bothered to look up the host venue for the showpiece on May 20.

He need not concern himself with that matter now. For Celtic, the end of this road will come in Germany on Thursday.

There can be no complaints about that scenario. Second best throughout against a polished Stuttgart outfit, O’Neill’s team never looked like they believed that they belong in the latter stages of this competition.

Slick and ruthless in the defining moments, Stuttgart were simply a class above anything Celtic could muster.

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