Denmark's head coach Kasper Hjulmand has described the decision to exclude in-form Celtic star Matt O’Riley from his 26-man Euro 2024 squad as “difficult.”

O'Riley, 23, made his international debut against Northern Ireland last November and was pivotal to Celtic securing their 12th league title in 13 years this season. 

The dynamic midfielder scored 19 times from 49 appearances while contributing to 18 assists - yet his blistering form wasn't good enough to earn a spot on the plane to the major tournament in Germany. 

Hjulmand was questioned about the former MK Dons player’s notable omission and stated that he knows O'Riley has been unfortunate to miss out.

“Matt’s been a really good player, he’s had a great season," he said. 

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“I’ve picked six players that we can move around a bit. It’s been at the expense of Matt, but it was a tough choice.

“I know he’s going to play a lot of international games. He couldn’t do anything differently.

“I don’t want to say the most difficult choices, because I think there have been some difficult choices. I can’t just say three, because there are more than three who deserve to play. Matt O’Riley is one.”

Hjulmand previously hinted in an interview that O’Riley, who was nominated in a four man shortlist for PFA Scotland Player of the Year, playing in Scotland could work against him despite the London-born star being a standout during Celtic's double winning campaign. 

He noted: “You have to put it into the context of how the Scottish league is in relation to the (Danish) Superliga, the Bundesliga or Spain.

“We are fully aware of that. There are constant considerations.”