Preston North End striker Emil Riis missed out on a World Cup spot but saw Denmark’s strikers fail to hit the net over in Qatar.
It was always a long shot for Riis to break into Kasper Hjulmand’s squad.
Riis had only landed one call-up for Denmark and that came back in November 2021.
The PNE striker was on the bench against Scotland but didn’t make his debut.
It was great to see Riis on the Denmark radar though and he finished last season with 20 goals in all competitions.
Riis hasn’t been quite as prolific this term but we still know how much quality he has in the locker.
Riis will have been watching Denmark at the World Cup and, like every Dane, will surely have been disappointed.
Some backed Denmark as dark horses for the World Cup but they were instead dumped out in the group stage with just one point to their name.
The big problem for Denmark was goals.
They scored just once in Qatar and that came from a defender with Andreas Christensen scoring against France.
Hjulmand just didn’t seen to trust any of his strikers in front of goal.
Andreas Cornelius, Kasper Dolberg, Martin Braithwaite, Jonas Wind and Yussuf Poulsen were all taken to Qatar and yet Denmark didn’t get a single goal from their strikers.
That’s a major problem for Hjulmand but should be inspiration for Riis.
It’s clear that Denmark just don’t have a clear number one striker right now and this goal-shy showing at the World Cup may leave Hjulmand considering other options.
The challenge for Riis is now clear; score consistently for PNE again and put himself back in contention for Denmark.
The World Cup showing has opened the door for other Danish strikers and Riis can now seize that opportunity and catapult himself into international action – but it all starts with shining for PNE.