Almost exactly three years ago, the entire football world held its breath. On June 12, 2021, Denmark played its opening match in the EC against Finland at the Park in Copenhagen.
As the clock ticked up towards 45 minutes of play, Christian Eriksen, then 29, fell handless to the grass. He had suffered an acute cardiac arrest. Life-saving efforts continued for 20 minutes and the match was suspended, only to be restarted about two hours later.
Many feared that the Dane’s career was over. But Christian had other plans. 259 days after the cardiac arrest, he made a comeback on the pitch, then in Brentford.
1,100 days have passed since the horror afternoon at the Park.
“His actions are incredibly important”
And on Sunday, Christian Eriksen started in Denmark’s EC premiere and his own comeback in the tournament. After ten minutes he broke the deadlock by knocking in 1-0, nicely played by Jonas Wind. A symbolic goal.
– It is absolutely incredible and special for him. He comes back three years later and scores Denmark’s first goal in the EC. His actions on the pitch are incredibly important in the remaining matches. said Anders Christiansen in TV4’s broadcast.
Denmark went, unexpectedly for many, on a miscalculation in the opener against Slovenia, despite Eriksen’s bowl. The match ended 1-1.