Denmark Under-21s called up Matt O’Riley after he had chosen to represent his Mother’s place of birth rather than England, where he was born.
Born in 2000, the midfielder is still young. However, if he continues to get minutes under his belt at Celtic, continuing to perform, he could be jetting off to Qatar in November.
Of course, the Danes have qualified for the World Cup, topping the group Scotland finished second in.
During the EUROS, Matt hadn’t declared which country he’d represent. Denmark was present in the tournament, and that’s how O’Riley realised which country he wanted to represent.
While watching Denmark’s game against Russia, he celebrated a goal with his Mother, and that’s when he knew he had to represent the Scandinavian country.
“Before the match, I did not know who to stick with.” He told BOLD
“But when Mikkel Damsgaard scored on the free kick, I went completely crazy. It was here that I really found out that I might be a little more Danish, because I was [up celebrating] with my mother, with whom I watched the match.
“My father was sitting in another room in the house, but even he came running in and cheered with us. And he’s even fully English, so I asked him, ‘What are you up to?!’
“I could just feel, ‘I want to be a part of this’.”
There’s no reason why the midfielder can’t be called up to the senior squad in time for November. There are plenty of chances to impress; he must take these opportunities. If he can raise his performances even further, it’ll also benefit Celtic.
