Lucas Riisgaard was officially called up to the Denmark Under-21 national team on Tuesday by coach Lars Knudsen following a season that left coaches, players, and football pundits in sheer disbelief over his explosive breakthrough in the Danish Superliga.
Just two years ago, the 22-year-old was playing amateur football in the lower-tier Sjaellandsserien for Saby Fodbold. After a brief, highly successful stint with Aarhus Fremad, he moved to Silkeborg IF in July 2026 and immediately took the top flight by storm.
"I am incredibly proud to have been selected for the national team; it's a milestone in my career, and it really means everything for me. To play for your country is as big as it gets, and I am really buzzing right now," Riisgaard tells Flashscore.com.
Exceptional speed has been the key catalyst for Riisgaard's remarkable breakthrough in Danish football.
"I have never trained my speed - not with strength training or those agility runs that some people claim make you faster. I was simply born with my speed," says Riisgaard.
"Speed has always been a big part of my game, and my teammates call me 'Speedy'. My youth coaches always advised me to just kick the ball in front of the defenders and then outpace them."
"Of course, the speed gives me a huge advantage. With or without the ball, defenders will always struggle against me when I get ahead of them. Either I break free of them, get a free kick, or a penalty.
"When I am facing a defender, I always think: 'Perhaps you are bigger and stronger than I am, but you are never going to catch me.' I use my speed to stay away from a strong challenge," adds Riisgaard, who underlines that FC Midtjylland's Mads Bech Sorensen and Brondby captain Luis Binks are the two toughest defenders he has faced in the Danish Superliga.
Actually, in terms of top speed, he has been recorded to being faster than French international Kylian Mbappe, who increased his World Cup tally to a record-breaking 22 goals this summer.
The Real Madrid striker is typically clocked with a top speed of around 36.8 km/h to 37.9 km/h, depending on the tournament and measurement method. In comparison, Riisgaard has been clocked at a top speed of 37.64 km/h. He truly appreciates the comparison with Mbappe.
"I think it's incredible that I can measure myself up against the fastest players in the world. He is obviously one of the biggest names in football, and I only appreciate being compared to him because it creates attention around my performances. So, I am really happy that I have the same speed as some of the biggest players in the biggest clubs," says Riisgaard.
One of the most remarkable things in Riisgaard's career is that he hasn't been enrolled in any academy or selected by any Danish youth national team until Lars Knudsen included his name in the Under-21 national team squad that will get their European Championship qualifying campaign underway in the coming weeks.
The Silkeborg winger says he is stunned by the development his career has taken since he found himself playing in the lower leagues just 24 months ago:
"I can't really believe what has happened in my career over the last two years. I always believed it would happen eventually, but to be honest I hadn't seen it coming this soon. I think it’s a great example of the fact that you can make your breakthrough even if you didn't come through an academy of a big club from a young age."
"I have certainly had my ups and downs. I never stopped believing that I would get my chance, and this is the reward," explains the Silkeborg player.
After scoring six goals in 13 appearances for Aarhus Fremad, Riisgaard signed a five-year contract with Silkeborg when he joined the club in July, and he is determined to establish himself at the club to pave the way for a potentially lucrative contract with a club outside of Denmark in the future.
"The dream is to join a team in one of the biggest leagues in Europe, and the ultimate ambition is to one day play for Liverpool or Barcelona," he admits.
The Danish youngster has actually already tried his luck abroad as he joined Maritimo's Under-19 side in Portugal when he was 17 years old, but the stay did not turn out as planned.
"Maritimo is based on the island of Madeira, so we had to fly a lot. I was very young, and I felt very alone down there, which was hard. I wasn't ready to take that step at the time. I sometimes also struggled to get my wages, so it was mentally really tough. I ended up being really homesick and decided to go home. But it hasn't discouraged me from chasing the international dream," explains Riisgaard.
Riisgaard has so far scored two goals in eight appearances for Silkeborg and will be in action again on Friday when the Eastern Jutland side take on Lyngby in Copenhagen.