Matt O'Riley knows a blast of Bernabeu magic for Celtic could give him one last major push towards the World Cup Finals.
Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand is set to name his final squad for Qatar 2022 at the end of the week and the midfielder is still in the running. O’Riley has the chance to force his way into set-up having impressed at Under-21 level and also in the Champions League.
Although the midfielder’s colleague Daizen Maeda made the cut for Japan, team-mates Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate were chopped. However, O’Riley’s door is still open and he said: “Kyogo was still in really good spirits in training and Reo was himself as well, so that’s a good thing. Of course we are all happy for Daizen as well. Naturally, I was a bit surprised it was only Daizen because I feel all three have performed at a really high level. I’m sure they will naturally be disappointed, but, again, football is a crazy game and these things happen.
“I’m in a good position to show what I can do, but I am not trying to put too much pressure on myself. I have performed pretty well throughout this season in general consistency-wise, so this is another chance to kind of add to the foundations I have built and, if all goes well, I go.
“Of course, but I hope I have planted enough seeds to show what I am about at this stage and I’ll try to do the same. I always do. We’ll see what happens.”
O’Riley could have no better opposition to prove himself ready than midfield duo Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. The Dane knows he’s facing footballing royalty, but there’s no inferiority complex. Just incentives and opportunity as he said: “You have to put things in perspective.
“Of course, they have unbelievable players and they are an unbelievable club, but they have all come from the same places as we have. They are human beings at the end of the day, they are just very good at football.
“So I feel if you treat them differently, your mindset changes and maybe nerves or different things might kick in, whereas if you just approach it fearless and taking the game to them, you have every chance of performing well and actually showcasing yourself. In my head, I hope they play their strongest possible team. I prefer that because that is the best test for us and we want to prove a point to people we can perform really well at this level and play against these teams and win. That’s the main aim.
"That’s the challenge we face and we’re looking forward to it. Throughout the group, individually and collectively we have improved. People have imposed themselves on games naturally with experience.
“It is obviously the biggest stage, so sometimes it can take a game to settle in. Although I do think in that first game we definitely imposed our football on the game.
“It is just a matter of maintaining it for 90 minutes. If we can do that, I think we have got a good chance of winning the game. You learn things as you go. In the first game, I thought they were very good at managing the game, especially in the second-half when they had their lead. They just controlled possession.
“We could have been a bit more aggressive. So you learn things like that. Obviously coming from the Scottish league to here you learn the game can be very different. It is probably slightly more open in a sense. In Scotland, we are used to having teams in a low block just waiting for us to attack them.
“Whereas here, they are probably a bit more expansive with how they play, which I personally enjoy more because I feel like the game is a bit more flowing. So, yeah, you definitely learn a lot more.”
Celtic will sign off from the Champions League for this season tonight, but O’Riley feels there is a chance to show they belong back at the top table in the future. He said: “If we want to win, we are going to have to be at our very best. We know when we have a chance it is about taking it now and being ruthless.
“It does feel like we are close right now, but also very far away in terms of where we sit in the group. So if we can show a really good performance in this game, it’s putting a statement out there that Celtic do belong at this level. I think that is the aim for us.”
O’Riley always dreamed he’d return to the Bernabeu as a Champions League star. It was a decade ago when the 21-year-old arrived at the home of Real.
On a trip with the youths at Fulham, O’Riley wasn’t just like a normal school kid looking around and gawping. He was looking around believing he could return with his boots on and said: “I don’t think you can plan exactly what happens, but you can definitely dream it.
“I have dreamt about this kind of thing in my head already, so the fact I am here, I wouldn’t say it’s a surprise, but it’s definitely pretty cool. I must have been about 10 or 11 at the time. You will probably know a few of the boys. Ryan Sessegnon is probably the biggest name.
“I have obviously got a lot of friends from that group who I am still in touch with, so it is pretty surreal that I am back here now actually playing. It was a bonus for us to see the changing rooms and so on. Now we are going to be sitting in them so that’s pretty cool.”
