Denmark national coach keeping a close eye on Preston star Emil's Riis' goalscoring prowess

Emil Riis hopes maintaining his good form with Preston North End can open the door to the Denmark squad.
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The Danish coaching staff have been in touch with Riis and PNE team-mate Daniel Iversen recently.

Both have shone this season, Riis being North End’s leading scorer with 11 goals while Iversen has produced some fine keeping displays.

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The call hasn’t come for this international window but if they keep producing the goods for PNE, the next one in March is a possibility.

Emil RiisEmil Riis
Emil Riis

Riis was capped five times at Under-21 level by Denmark, with the striker playing at Under-16, Under-19 and Under-20 level too.

He’s on the radar of the senior squad but has work to do yet.

Riis told the Lancashire Post: “I got a call from the Denmark assistant manager saying that I was close but not there just yet.

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“He told me he’d really enjoyed watching me and just to keep on going.

“I don’t think he’s been over to watch the games, it’s been on television.

“It’s nice to know they are watching me and playing for Denmark is a goal I have set for myself.

“I have Under-21 caps but didn’t play a lot of games.

“Last season I was in and out of the team at Preston so it was hard to get into the Under-21s team.”

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Turning to the position of Iversen – who is on loan for the season from Leicester – Riis feels the goalkeeper is ready to step-up internationally.

“I know that Daniel got the same call as me,” said Riis.

“He is getting close as well because he’s been doing really well here.

“I don’t know why he hasn’t been called up yet, Daniel is a fantastic keeper”

Riis, 23, is making a quick visit home to Denmark this weekend to catch-up with family and friends.

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Once the Championship resumes a week tomorrow, it’s nonstop through to the third week of March.

For PNE and other clubs, the international break is about combining work on the training pitch with a chance to recharge the batteries.

Riis, who was nominated for Sky Bet Championship player of the month but lost out to Fulham’s Aleksander Mitrovic, said: “Not having a match gives me the chance to go home.

“A lot of my friends back home play football so these are the times we can catch-up.

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“Last year when I signed for Preston, there wasn’t the opportunity to travel home or for family to come and visit me because of travel restrictions.

“After the Nottingham Forest game, we had a couple of days off to rest and then we trained during the week.

“Our focus is on playing Cardiff next Saturday.”

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