Denmark vs Finland LIVE: Christian Eriksen ‘was gone’ before medical intervention, team doctor reveals
Play was suspended after the Danish midfielder collapsed on the pitch at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen
Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 game against Finland in Copenhagen had to be suspended after Danish player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field of play.
Medical staff were quick to attend to him while his teammates, opposition and coaching staff were visibily stricken by the scenes unfolding at the Parken Stadium.
Teammates formed a shield around the former Tottenham man, while fans inside the stadium were clearly stunned by the incident, with some pictured in tears. Referee Anthony Taylor called a halt to proceedings shortly before half-time with Finnish players retiring to the dressing room. Danish players remained on the field as doctors attended to Eriksen.
Uefa later confirmed that the match had been suspended officially due to “a medical emergency”. They later confirmed that Eriksen had been transferred to hospital and had been “stabilised.” A further communication from the Danish FA indicated Eriksen was awake when he left the stadium.
The European football governing body also confirmed that the game would restart at 7.30pm with Finland running out winners thanks to Joel Pohjanpalo’s second-half goal.
Euro 2020: Denmark vs Finland
This game is being held in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, which is one of 11 host cities at Euro 2020. While these are both Nordic countries, Denmark is almost 1,000km away from Finland.
It has been almost 30 years since Denmark’s famous European Championship victory in Sweden, but this squad is perhaps one of their best prepared since. Christian Eriksen aside, the names may not stand out for their star power, but there is proven quality in almost every position upon which Kasper Hjulmand can rely to qualify for the knockout stages:
Denmark Euro 2020 squad guide, fixtures and ones to watch
The Danes reached the last 16 at the World Cup and quietly boast a very strong squad
Euro 2020: Denmark vs Finland
Finland are one of two debutants at the tournament, along with North Macedonia. They won six of their 10 games in qualifying, keeping a clean sheet in all those victories.
However, they have conceded 10 goals in their other four games, twice against Italy and away to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Greece. They are winless in six games and have lost their last three in a row.
Yet hope remains in Teemu Pukki who has scored 10 of their 16 goals in qualifying, eight more than any other Finnish player.
Euro 2020: Denmark vs Finland
This is Denmark’s ninth European Championship appearance but only their first since 2012. Their progression to the 2004 quarter-final was a first to the knockout stage since winning the tournament in 1992.
Christian Eriksen has been in top form for the Danes scoring five goals and three assists across their eight qualifying games.
Euro 2020: Wales 1 - 1 Switzerland
The post match reaction of Wales captain Gareth Bale who said: “Both teams tried to play, it was a little bit tense, but it’s not a bad result and we take the positives. We wanted to win the game, we had chances but so did they.
“When you go 1-0 down and you can crumble but we showed a lot of grit and character like always and we showed our class to fight back and get the goal. We worked very hard, it’s hard in this heat, I’m proud of the boys.
“After the match we said we need to use this as a springboard. We now need to recover and move onto the next game.”
Euro 2020: Reaction from Wales boss Rob Page
We wanted a positive start and it feels like a win in the changing room, we had to dig deep at the end and we had a bit of lady luck. We had to compete defensively, but with the pace and quality we have in our team it always makes for an entertaining game.
“Dan James’ replacement was for the good of the squad, he was out on his feet because of the work he put in up to that point. He was disappointed when he came off but it was all about the squad.
“Kieffer Moore has been terrific at international and club level, he’s got a great touch and his link up play is great. He’s got all his attributes for a centre forward, he’s given us the rewards today.
“Thankfully I was stood in the shade so it was easy for me, the players are going to struggle with the heat and we factored that into things.
“Italy have quality in abundance and we respect Turkey too, it’s all about focusing on that now and we will be preparing for that test now. Turkey are a different opposition to what we’ve faced today, but we will have to be solid and well organised again.
“That’s the foundations, if we need to dig in we will but we’ve proved we can play.”
Euro 2020: Denmark vs Finland
This is going to be a tough one for Finland. They have won just one of the last 22 meetings against Denmark with six games ending in draws and 15 in defeat.
That win? A 2-1 triumph in a friendly in February 2000.
Euro 2020: Denmark vs Finland
There’ll be more reaction to come from Baku but there are still games to play today. Up next Group B gets underway as Denmark take on Finland in Copenhagen.
Here’s a look at the line ups:
Denmark XI: Schmeichel; Wass, Kjaer, Christensen, Maehle; Eriksen, Hojbjerg, Delaney; Poulsen, Wind, Braithwaite
Euro 2020: Player ratings for Wales vs Switzerland in Baku
Wales earned a point with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their opening match of Euro 2020 at the Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan as Kieffer Moore cancelled out Breel Embolo’s opener. Here’s how everyone went on:
Player ratings as Kieffer Moore snatches Wales a point against Switzerland
Wales 1-1 Switzerland: A backs-to-the-wall performance earns a somewhat fortunate point for the Dragons
Euro 2020: Reaction from Kieffer Moore
Wales forward and former Wigan Athletic striker Kieffer Moore secured a point for the Dragons in their opening game of Euro 2020. His headed effort cancelled out Breel Embolo’s opener and Moore says he was pleased with his own performance.
“It’s great personally, we’d have liked to won but we’ll take a draw to put us in a good position.” he said in a post match interview. “It’s never good going a goal down but to get one back and see the game out is a big positive for us.
“It’s tough out there, but it is what we expected, we’ve been here for a week now.
“Obviously this is a big occasion and I’ve loved every second of it.”
Euro 2020: What we learned for Wales’ clash with Switzerland
Wales earned a point with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their opening match of Euro 2020 at the Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan:
Five things we learned as Wales come back to draw with Switzerland
Kieffer Moore’s second-half header earned a share of the points in Group A
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies