"I could have helped" – Brighton star reveals international disappointment, doesn't 'hold a grudge' against manager
12/19/2024 07:52 AM
Matt O’Riley joined Brighton & Hove Albion from Celtic in the summer transfer window.
He picked up an unfortunate injury in his first match, but scored against Manchester City on his Premier League debut and has since started two games for the club.
After regaining fitness, he’s already returned to the Denmark national team and was on the bench in a UEFA Nations League game against Serbia in November.
In a chat with ViaPlay, the Brighton midfielder opened up about missing games for Denmark, despite scoring 13 times and assisting 11 times for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last season.
He said, as relayed by Bold: "I spoke to Kasper Hjulmand [then Denmark boss] on the phone. He said: ‘Right now, you’re not there, but you can come over and train with us for two or three days. Maybe that can change.’"
Speaking further about his regrets, the 24-year-old said: "In my opinion, I could have helped the team, but in football it’s not up to us.
"But I don’t hold a grudge. Of course it hurt. I think I did enough to get in, but as I said, it wasn’t up to me."
It is quite clear that O’Riley wasn’t happy with the fact that he didn’t play for the Danish national team despite impressing in Scotland.
The fact that he was on the bench for the Denmark back in November suggests that things are looking up for the midfielder and consistent performances for Brighton can help him become a regular for the national side.
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