Denmark assistant manager Morten Weighorst has stated that he’s been watching Matt O’Riley in all of his Celtic games this season.
O’Riley is eligible to play for both Denmark and England at international level. And speaking last week, the former MK Dons star admitted he wouldn’t say no if the Danes got in touch as he talked up his Danish heritage.
2022 is of course a World Cup year, with Denmark already booking their place in Qatar for the showpiece competition. O’Riley could very well find himself involved if he keeps up the form that’s landed him a place in Celtic supporters’ hearts so quickly.
And Weighorst has encouraged the player to make his mind up on his international career definitively as he stated Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand has already been in touch.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Weighorst said: “I’ve watched all of his games so far this season and he’s done well. He looks composed. He sees passes and he got a goal at Aberdeen the other week.
“First and foremost, Matt has to make up his mind whether he wants to play for Denmark. If any player who has that possibility, like Matt has through his mum who’s Danish, I’d always support it. He’s got the ability to be in contention. But the player’s heart has got to be in it, the player needs to want to play for his country.
“The head coach is in touch with Matt so we’ll see. No disrespect to MK Dons but he’s at a higher level now, he has a higher profile playing in front of 60,000 fans at Celtic and in Europe. He will definitely develop in the coming seasons and he’s slotted in well so far.”
Matt O’Riley may need to commit before being offered Denmark opportunity
The message from Weighorst appears to be pretty simple here. As impressed as he’s been with O’Riley, it appears as though the Danes are looking for a commitment from Matt before calling him up.
You can understand any slight hesitancy in doing that from the player’s perspective. He’ll be wanting to keep his options open until either Denmark or England give him an international opportunity. There’s nothing overly wrong with that and it’s something many professionals do who are eligible to play for more than 1 country.
Even so, O’Riley has been given plenty of encouragement by the Danish coaches. It looks as though they’re close to handing him his big opportunity. And if all it will take is a verbal commitment to their cause, it’s something he’ll really need to consider. Particularly when you consider that it is indeed a World Cup year.
Denmark have 2 friendlies next month against the Netherlands and Serbia respectively. O’Riley would undoubtedly love to be involved. Especially given that they’ll be used as prep matches for the World Cup. A chance to potentially take a look at some new talent.
It could be a touch early for him to break in at the moment. For all we know he may need to take a step into the under-21s first and foremost.
But it appears as though an opportunity is there for O’Riley to make it on the international stage with Denmark. He’s certainly getting more encouragement from the Danish camp than the English one.
In other news, The encouraging message that went around the Celtic dressing-room after Bodo/Glimt loss
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