RANGERS could be set for a club versus county battle over young defender Ross McCrorie.
The 19-year-old has become a favourite for manager Pedro Caixinha and the young centre-half was praised heavily by the Portuguese in the wake of his substitute appearance in the win over Partick Thistle on Tuesday night.
McCrorie, who has two caps for the Scotland U21s, is a hot tip for a call up to Scot Gemmill's squad for the Euro qualifying double header with England and Latvia during the next international break.
However, Caixinha has revealed he would prefer the teenage centre-half to snub his nation's call to travel with Rangers to Canada as they face Benfica in a friendly.
“We don't have too many players with their national sides, other than Bruno Alves and Lee Hodson," he said. “We have a couple of players like Ross McCrorie and Ryan Hardie who should be with the Scotland U21's. But maybe we can take Ross with us, rather than leave him with the U21's. Playing against Benfica will lead him to new adaptations. I want to test him in that situation, if Bruno is with Portugal.
“I think it will be more beneficial for Ross because Benfica will be a man's game. When a young player is ready to play a man's game, you'd prefer him to play at that level.
“If he's playing against Jonas for instance, he'll learn more than play against Latvia for instance. But we'll look at the situation and maybe agree something.
“It keeps the boys competing at a level, keep them focused and give chances to a few other players."
Speaking about how Rangers' invite to the Eusebio Cup game came about, Caixinha added: “This is the 10th edition of the Eusebio Cup and at first they invited the Brazilian side Chapecoense who suffered the terrible plane crash.
“But the CBF refused the permission, I don't know why. Normally, they announce the opposition before the start of the season and they hold the game in their own stadium. But this is the second time it will be played abroad. The previous one was two years ago when Benfica toured USA and Mexico. They made the inauguration of the Monterey stadium.
“But we were contacted by the organisers, we looked at the conditions and the schedule – and we went for it. It's very important for us to be present in these sort of games. It's a chance to play against a top team."
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