Denmark vs Finland LIVE: Christian Eriksen ‘was gone’ before medical intervention, team doctor reveals

Belgium started Euro 2020 with a 3-0 win over Russia last night with Romelu Lukaku dedicating the first of two goals to Inter Milan team-mate Christian Eriksen.

The Group B fixture had appeared in doubt when the other match in the group between Denmark and Finland - taking place two hours earlier - was suspended after Eriksen collapsed in the first half.

A lengthy delay occurred but after the Inter playmaker was able to regain consciousness and was taken to hospital, where he is in a stable position, the first match in the group resumed and Belgium were able to take on Russia, which ended in a routine victory for Roberto Martinez’s men.

Semi-finalists at the World Cup in Russia three years ago, Belgium went top of the group thanks to a brace by Lukaku that sandwiched Thomas Meunier’s goal.

Dries Mertens’ cross was not dealt with by Andrey Semenov and former Everton and Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku fired the ball in with his left foot before he grabbed the pitchside camera saying, “Chris, I love you” in a message to team-mate Eriksen.

Professor Sanjay Sharma, professor of sports cardiology at London’s St George’s University, says UK football bodies would likely to be “very strict” about allowing Christian Eriksen to play professional football again.

Speaking about the incident, Prof Sharma, who worked with Eriksen during his time at Tottenham, said: “Clearly something went terribly wrong.

“But they managed to get him back, the question is what happened? And why did it happen? This guy had normal tests all the way up to 2019 so how do you explain this cardiac arrest?”

Prof Sharma, who chairs the FA’s expert cardiac consensus group and is a consultant for charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), said there were multiple reasons a cardiac arrest could have taken place, such as high temperatures or an unidentified condition.

But he said reports that Eriksen was awake in hospital was “a very good sign”.

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said after Saturday’s game that the Danish players would be offered any assistance needed as they try to focus on the rest of the tournament.

“We will spend the next few days processing this as best we can,” Hjulmand said. “And of course we are surrounded by professional people. ... It’s not normal to play such a game and then see one of your friends suffer with a heart issue.”

The incident cast an immediate pall on what had been a party-like atmosphere in Copenhagen as Denmark hosted a major tournament game for the first time. The players had been talking about the possibility of repeating the country’s upset win at the 1992 European Championship, with Eriksen the centerpiece of the team in his attacking midfield role.

Now the team will have to focus on just getting through the next game against top-ranked Belgium on Thursday in Group B. And Hjulmand praised his players for not being afraid to show their emotions both on the field and in the dressing room.

“It’s a traumatic experience,” Hjulmand said. “The attitude (when play resumed) was let’s go out and try to do what we can. And then we talked about allowing (yourself) to have all these feelings. And it was OK to say no if they weren’t able to play. Some of them said that they wanted to try. And I said no matter what feelings they had, it was all OK. You had to allow yourself to try to play the game if you felt like it. And you had to dare to show happy emotions. But it was OK to say no. Because some of them they weren’t able to, they weren’t able to play.”

In a statement on Twitter, the Danish FA said: “Latest news: This morning we have spoken to Christian Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his teammates.

“His condition is stable and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination.

“The team and staff of the national team has received crisis assistance and will continue to be there for each other after yesterday’s incident.

“We would like to thank everyone for the heartfelt greetings to Christian Eriksen from fans, players, the Royal Families from both Denmark and England, international associations, clubs etc.

“We encourage everyone to send their greetings to the Danish FA, where we will make sure they are all passed on to Christian and his family.”

This is the latest from the Danish FA.

They say Christian Eriksen has sent greetings to his Denmark teammates, he remains stable and will continue to stay in hospital.

For once, the words ‘football family’ did not seem like a cynical cliché. When Christian Eriksen lay still on the grass of the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, the world held its breath.

The horror of the situation was evident on the faces of Eriksen’s Denmark team-mates. The Finland players were stunned, too. Fear and devastation overwhelmed the sidelines and the stands.

There will be plenty of questions about the television coverage of the 29-year-old’s collapse but viewers across the globe shared the pain. All thought of rivalries was forgotten. It became about hope. Even the godless muttered a small prayer.

Football players and fans from around the world sent messages of support to Christian Eriksen after he collapsed on the pitch during Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland.

Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing in an FA Cup game in 2012, was among those offering thoughts and prayers on social media.

The former Bolton Wanders player tweeted simply: “Please God.”

Eriksen’s current club Inter Milan and former clubs Tottenham and Ajax also issued messages of support, with Spurs tweeting: “All of our thoughts are with Christian Eriksen and his family.”

Similar expressions of solidarity came from former England players Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville as well as current England players Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford.

Full story:

The latest is that Christian Eriksen is “awake” and “stable” in hospital after collapsing on the pitch during Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland.

The Inter Milan midfielder stumbled forward in the 43rd minute and then fell to the turf as Thomas Delaney looked to throw the ball towards him to restart play in the Group B fixture.

The Danish Football Association have confirmed Eriksen is “awake” and is currently receiving further examinations at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen.

Full story:

The footage of Christian Eriksen collapsing on the pitch and receiving chest compressions as stunned fans at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium looked on was shocking.

The player was said to be “awake” and had been rushed to hospital where he was being stabilised on Saturday night.

It is not yet known what caused Eriksen to collapse and his heart to apparently stop, but it is not the first time football has seen witnessed such scenes.