Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Graeme Young

Matt O'Riley underlines Celtic hype as Denmark debut gets rave review and catches manager's eye

Rising Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley earned a stellar review for his display during his debut in Denmarks U21s draw with Belgium.

The 21-year-old has committed his international future to the Danes and earned a call-up to Jesper Sorensen's squad.

O'Riley replaced Oliver Rose-Villadsen in the second half of Tuesday's 1-1 stalemate in their Euro qualifier.

And his all-action efforts caught the eye of leading publications Tipsbladet.

They were full of enthusiasm for the former MK Dons star who is in line to start against Rangers on Sunday with Tom Rogic battling to overcome injury.

They wrote: “ Celtic ’s Matt O’Riley, who has played youth internationals for England, came in for his first U21 international and he immediately marked himself.

"Several times he finished Danish attacks, and several of the attempts from the midfielder’s right foot were quite close to ending in the net."

Matt O'riley (DAILY RECORD)

And manager Sorensen is full of belief O'Riley is destined for a bright future on the international scene.

He told the Herald : "The purpose with the Under-21 side in Denmark is that all player should be able to make the step to the 'A' team, that's what the overall purpose is for us.

"What we have seen from Matt right now is very good. Of course, I have players in my team and squad that are ahead of Matt, and players who could play with us and are already with the 'A' team, but we think he is promising.

"We cannot predict who is going to take the step to the next level, but right now he is in a very good position to take that next step up from the under-21s.

"Of course, we play to get to the under-21 Euros, and we would like to participate in that tournament, but why not?

Matt O'Riley has been an instant success at Celtic (SNS Group)

"It doesn't look as though he is impressively fast, and yet still he is playing at a very high level with Celtic and he is able to make an impact on the games and on his squad.

"That tells me that what he does well - the way he sees the game, his skillset, his left foot is at a very, very high level - is so good that he would otherwise not be able to play at that very high level."

Denmark trail Belgium by nine points but have two games in hand in the race to land a playoff spot in a group that also includes Scotland, Turkey and Kazakhstan.

O'Riley's burgeoning debut bodes well for the future as he aims to become a star at senior level for a side who are heading to the World Cup in Qatar.

For your chance to win HOME tickets to Cinch SPFL matches each week across ALL FOUR divisions just enter our competition below. You can enter once each week to be in with a chance of winning. If the form isn't working (CLICK HERE)...Good Luck!

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.