Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has hailed his experience of playing with the Denmark u21s side a moment he will remember all his life, as he looks to nail down an international spot with his Hoops form.
The midfielder has had an incredible rise over the past few months after joining Celtic from English League One side MK Dons.
O’Riley made an immediate impact in the Green and White Hoops, impressing in his first fixture against Hearts at Tynecastle and going from strength to strength since then.
His form for Ange Postecoglou’s side also earned him an international call-up with the Denmark under-21s side, where he went on to make his debut against Belgium on Tuesday night.
As quoted by Glasgow World, the midfielder opened up on the special moment in his career as he prepares to head back to league action with Celtic and will be hoping he can maintain his form in order to gain more international recognition.
“It was my first match, so I will definitely have to take the jersey home and hang it in my room.
“It’s something I’ll remember all my life. I am only 21 years old, so maybe there will be an A national team match, which I can also look back on.
“It’s been great for my family. I have not seen my cousin for maybe four or five years, so it has been a long time.
“I am Danish, but my family is pure Danish, so for them, it is absolutely crazy that I am on the national team.
“My debut was nice. I might have been a little nervous before the match but, when I came on, it was just a normal football match.
“I also had some good chances where I could have scored a goal with a little luck. I think Belgium were a bit lucky because we actually played really well.
“We also had some great chances in the last 20 minutes, so it’s a little annoying that we did not win, but it was still a good performance.”
Although it might be a little nervy seeing players playing for the international side ahead of such a big game this weekend, you can imagine the sense of pride players earn from pulling on their nation’s colours.
O’Riley has worked incredibly hard over the last 18 months with both MK Dons and Celtic to earn this opportunity, and there is no doubt from Celtic supporters that he won’t be playing on a regular basis for his nation’s first team in the near future.
This sort of incentive could prove as a huge boost to both Postecoglou and his side, with players like O’Riley looking to perform to their absolute best every single week with so much on the line.
