Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley made his long-awaited yet deserved debut for the Danish national team last night. The 23-year-old started and played an hour away to Northern Ireland in a 2-0 defeat.
After the match, O’Riley was disappointed and turned his attention back to Celtic ahead of a packed run of games. He said (Viaplay Sports): “Obviously I want to play regularly for my country going forward and really impact games here. We’ve obviously got a very strong midfield but I still feel like I’m more than comfortable to play the level. For now it’s just back to Celtic and try and perform as well as I can to make more squads going forward.”
Northern Ireland’s George Saville in action with Denmark’s Matt O’Riley Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
O’Riley fully deserved his Danish first-team call in the most recent break. He will undoubtedly aim to keep up his Celtic form in order to be continually considered by Kasper Hjulmund going forward.
Getting on the plane to Euro 2024 will be a big aim for O’Riley. There is no reason why the Hoops’ number 33 cannot play at next summer’s tournament for Denmark and be part of the 23-man squad that heads over to Germany.
