Why Matt O'Riley is with Celtic and not Denmark under-21s this international break

By Hamish Carton

March 23, 2023

Matt O’Riley is one of the many Celtic players left at Lennoxtown during this international break.

Ange Postecoglou‘s squad features a number of players currently away with their countries, but the majority are earning a little rest after not being called up.

The omissions of Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate from Japan duty have dominated headlines, but the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Aaron Mooy and Greg Taylor are missing due to various fitness issues.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

O’Riley is another who won’t be playing international football over the next ten days, but for a different reason.

While details have been sketchy, 67 Hail Hail can confirm that O’Riley is not with the Denmark under-21s.

At 22, the Celtic midfielder is now too old to take part for Steffen Højer’s side.

If Denmark had qualified for this year’s UEFA European Under-21 Championship then O’Riley would have been eligible to compete.

But failure to qualify for the tournament means that it’s now a new Denmark group taking to the pitch.

O’Riley’s challenge will now be working his way into the full Denmark setup.

Photo by Thor Wegner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

That won’t be easy given that the Danes are currently ranked 18th in the world (FIFA) with the likes of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Christian Eriksen on their books.

But O’Riley has the talent and the dedication to make it work. A full Denmark call-up seems like a matter of time.

In other news, Celtic’s squad has ranked well after being valued by research group CIES

Hamish Carton
Hamish Carton is a sports media professional with more than eight years of experience in the industry. Previously a football reporter for the Press Association, Hamish joined 67 Hail Hail to cover his beloved Celtic FC, the team he has supported all of his life. He is the face of the website’s YouTube channel and is responsible for planning, presenting and editing videos on the channel. He writes occasionally on the website and, just like Patrick, he is so in love with Ange Postecoglou that he's even written a book about his journey at Celtic.

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