Kasper Hjulmand has spoken to the media in Denmark after selecting his 26-man squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament in Germany.
Celtic star Matt O’Riley has been left out of the line-up despite recent call-ups to the national team, surprising observers in Denmark and Scotland.
O’Riley contributed a massive 37 goals to Celtic’s double-winning campaign, consisting of 19 efforts of his own and 18 assists. From midfield, it’s a remarkable return.
Despite that, Hjulmand has decided to go with different options. The 23-year-old has been left disappointed and looking in from the sidelines.
The Denmark manager gave a press conference earlier this afternoon and explained that the Bhoys talent couldn’t have done more this season to be selected.
Kasper Hjulmand on Matt O’Riley’s Denmark omission
Hjulmand said [Bold]: “Matt’s been a really good player, he’s had a great season. I’ve picked six players that we can move around a bit. It’s been at the expense of Matt, but it was a tough choice.
“I know he’s going to play a lot of international games. He couldn’t do anything differently.”
Later when asked about the toughest choices he had to make, Hjulmand continued: “I don’t want to say the most difficult choices, because I think there have been some difficult choices. I can’t just say three, because there are more than three who deserve to play. Matt O’Riley is one.”
O’Riley will be more motivated than ever
Knowing the way O’Riley operates, the midfielder will be using this as motivational fuel over the coming 12 months and beyond. He’s made it clear he wants to achieve at the international level.
He is a self-critical individual and will be looking to take his game to new heights to convince others that he belongs at big tournaments.
Whether his game continues to develop at Celtic or not remains to be seen. Speculation is rife that the Bhoys could be fielding big bids this summer.
We’re all hoping that Brendan Rodgers can keep him in Glasgow for at least another season as the club aim to make progress at home and abroad.