MATT O’RILEY has 90 minutes to seal a dream place in Denmark’s World Cup squad for the soccer’s winter showpiece in Qatar.
The Celtic midfielder has made a meteoric rise since his £1.5million arrival at the champions from third-tier MK Dons in January.
The smooth playmaker attracted the attention of Denmark, birthplace of his mother, who introduced him to international football at Under-21 level. O’Riley has impressed and has been tipped as a possibility to gatecrash the top squad that will head to the Middle East for the Finals on November 21 to December 18.
UP IN THE AIR…Matt O’Riley attempts to bring the ball under control.
The Hoops ace set up the Danes’ goal for Casper Tengstedt as the team went down 2-1 to their Croatian counterparts in the first leg of their Euro Under-21 play-offs last night.
O’Riley was replaced in the 68th minute by Albert Gronbaek and is now hoping to get the nod to show what he can do in the return in Vejle on Tuesday night.
It will be his last chance to persuade international boss Kasper Hjulmand he has the quality to line up alongside Christian Eriksen and Co among the international elite.