Another Celtic star qualifies for EURO 2024 and it could be huge for Bhoys form

After Scotland’s official qualification for next year’s European Championships booked a place for Callum McGregor and the rest of the Celtic contingent in the Scottish squad, another Bhoys player could be heading to the major tournament.

Matt O’Riley was on the bench for Denmark as they beat Slovenia 2-1 on Friday night, confirming their spot at the finals in Germany next summer.

O’Riley was a late addition to the Danish squad after missing out on the initial announcement but has now been included in manager Kasper Hjulmand’s group in two consecutive international windows, giving the midfielder real hope of making a further push into his plans.

There’s even a chance he makes his debut for the country over the coming days, with Denmark playing away to Northern Ireland in a match that can now be used for experimentation with qualification secured.

Celtic could benefit from added O’Riley motivation

O’Riley has already been in exceptional form for Celtic this season. He’s scored six goals and assisted seven times since Brendan Rodgers arrived at the club, marking him out as one of the Bhoys’ most effective performers this season.

High-profile pundits such as Chris Sutton are calling him the best player in Scotland right now. Meanwhile, journalist Fabrizio Romano reckons he’s now worth over £25m in the transfer market.

Now, with the added motivation of potentially booking a ticket to his first-ever international tournament, we could see even more from O’Riley over the coming weeks and months.

It would be fantastic to see Hjulmand give O’Riley a debut in Belfast on Monday night and light a fire under the midfielder to prove himself further at club level.

A hungry and ruthless O’Riley can be a terror for opposition defences at home and abroad. We could well see the best of him from this point onwards and that’s an exciting thought.