The international break is always an interesting time for Celtic fans. The club have already been dealing with a number of fitness issues and do not want any more of their players to pick up knocks. In that regard, there has not been a lot to worry about in recent days except for a scare surrounding Luis Palma, which does not appear to be serious.
For one Celtic player in particular, this was a memorable international break. Matt O’Riley made his debut for the Denmark national team.
O’Riley has been fantastic at the start of this season and has been knocking on the door for a while. He finally got his chance this time around. Even though the result might not have gone Denmark’s way, it was a step in the right direction for the Celtic standout.
Kasper Schmeichel appears to have made a very positive impression on O’Riley during the international break, showcasing the leadership that helped him reach the top of the game. As reported by Football Scotland, the Celtic midfielder said:
"“Initially, straight after the game, I didn’t think I played well. I played for 60 minutes and we lost the game, the emotions are high and you think you didn’t play well.“On further reflection and having spoken to people, I was probably too hard on myself as I’ve had some pretty good feedback from most people who watched the game, which is nice. At the same time, I have high standards and I always think I can do better.“I got really nice feedback from Kasper Schmeichel. As a debutant, he stood up and spoke about me after the game and said some really nice words about my time in the camp.“He said he felt I did well in the game and it meant a lot. That was before I had to speak in front of the whole room myself, which was quite nerve-racking. But Kasper was really nice towards me, as most people there were. They all made me feel so welcome which made it easy to settle in.“It made it extra nice that Kasper said it in front of everyone too. After the game I felt quite disappointed because of the outcome. But I was maybe being quite hard on myself, as I can be in moments like that. I tend to be a bit more emotional than logical.“But Kasper has been around for such a long time and it was nice to get the positive feedback.”"
Schmeichel offers superb boost to Celtic player
It is always nice for players like O’Riley to get a bit of positive feedback from a veteran like Schmeichel. The Danish goalkeeper deserves a lot of credit for this and it must have come as a confidence booster for the Celtic midfielder for sure.
With a Denmark debut under his belt now, one would hope that O’Riley can continue his development at Parkhead. He has been superb this season so far but seems to have a lot more untapped potential as well.
That is an exciting thought if you are a Celtic fan. O’Riley is arguably the best player in the Premiership already based on his current form and it is very possible that he could get even better over the coming months.