Rangers: Canadian media critical of Derek Cornelius despite win vs South Africa

Rangers loanee Derek Cornelius had one of the best nights of his career in Canada's 1-0 win over South Africa.

The co-hosts were looking to secure a place in the last 16 of the World Cup in Los Angeles.

They did exactly that, with Stephen Eustaquio's 92nd minute strike sending them through.

They will face the winner of the Netherlands vs Morocco, looking to secure a historic quarter-finals berth.

The Marseille man had his loan with the Gers terminated early, but has been instrumental in the Reds' run at the tournament.

The national media has shared their reaction to Cornelius' showing, with rave reviews for the 28-year-old.

Why Derek Cornelius was criticised against South Africa despite heroics

Cornelius put in a commanding display, but it was a chance that he missed that took the focus from the national media.

Sportsnet handed him a seven out of 10 rating, saying: “He looked more comfortable with his familiar partner riding shotgun. Cornelius had a huge chance to open the scoring in the 22nd minute, but his free header was insufficient for the task.”

DAZN Canada gave him a 6.6 rating, saying: “Blocked Mokoena’s shot but wasted header from unmarked position.”

TSN also mentioned the miss, saying: “Derek Cornelius got a head on the ball but didn’t give the shot enough power.”

Ultimately, his performance is acknowledged in the ratings, but the effort that he could not convert would have came back to haunt him had his side not found a winner.

Why did it not work out for Cornelius at Rangers?

Cornelius' loan spell will not be made permanent despite an option for the Light to do so, for around £3.4million.

He did not make a positive impression on Danny Rohl and ultimately featured just six times under the German, after playing five games under Russell Martin.

He was left out of the squad from March onwards after injury issues, and he hit out at Rohl publicly afterwards.

The defender believes that he was disrespected and that the now RB Salzburg manager did not give him a legitimate reason as to why he was exiled.

He said: “I felt very disrespected.

“I said to them, ‘I can help this team’ in some way, whether that’s starting, whether it’s five minutes to hold on to a lead, or whether that’s having a conversation with a guy – a younger player – saying, ‘Don’t worry about the pressure, just focus on your job.’ Whatever.

“But I wasn’t given a solid reason as to why I was not considered.

“It was tough. It was really tough. I was hoping the situation would change.

His spell with the Bears came to an inglorious end, but luckily he kept his place with the national team and has had a great tournament.

There will still be little regret from the blue side of Glasgow and he did not prove his commitment to the cause and show that he was good enough to marshal their backline.

Supporters will move on from him very quickly and look ahead to the new season.