Danes only lose one match: Finland wins the worst game in the European Championship


Danes only lose one match
Finland wins the worst game in the European Championship

The result is almost irrelevant after Denmark’s Christian Eriksen’s struggle for survival. But because the game is brought to an end, it’s in the books: Finland surprisingly beat Denmark in their very first game at a European football championship.

It’s a drama that European football will probably never forget. In the middle of Denmark’s opening game against Finland, the Danish star player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the grass and remained motionless. Paramedics fought for his life for minutes, thousands of spectators in the stadium and millions on the screens trembled for Eriksen. When it became clear that the 29-year-old was conscious and had to be taken to hospital, UEFA, with the consent of both teams, allowed the game to continue after a break of more than an hour.

The fact that the Danes lost 1-0 (0-0) in the end and the outsider Finland with the goal scorer Joel Pohjanpalo (60th) and the penalty killer Lukas Hradecky (74th) now even has two EM heroes remained that evening but just a side note. Because the pictures were too shocking for that. When Eriksen lay motionless on the ground, the shocked Danish players clapped their hands in front of their faces, there was an eerie silence in the stadium and friend Sabrina hurried onto the lawn in great concern.

“News We Are Happy About”

It took more than an excruciatingly long hour before the Danish association DBU announced that the 29-year-old was conscious and had been brought to the Reich Hospital. “We have had contact with Christian and the players have spoken to him. He is fine,” said the director of the Danish football association DBU, Peter Møller, the radio broadcaster DR.

Eriksen’s agent Martin Schoote said on Dutch radio that he spoke briefly to the Inter-Milan professional’s father, who told him that Eriksen could breathe and speak. “This is the news that we have right now and that we are happy about.” At the request of both teams, the game was continued after a break of more than 90 minutes when the score was 0-0.

But the hosts couldn’t shake off the shock that easily, no matter how hard they tried. The outsider from Finland came through a header from Pohjanpalo to the opening goal, which goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel might have parried under normal circumstances. And even with the former Bundesliga professional Pierre-Emil Höjbjerg, the nerves at the awarded penalty was not the best. Before the restart, the Danish players and coaches had gathered in a large circle and encouraged each other to the applause of the spectators. Mathias Jensen had the difficult task of replacing the star player.

“Madness without words”

“Moments like these put everything in life into perspective. I wish Christian a full and speedy recovery and I pray that his family has strength and faith,” said Aleksander Ceferin, President of the European Football Union, on Twitter. The second game in Group B between Russia and Belgium also kicked off as planned.

The action happened in the 43rd minute without any opposing influence. With a throw-in, Eriksen went towards the ball and then sagged to the ground. The players around him saw the plight and called for medical help. Then the dramatic minutes began. Rescue workers could be seen giving him a heart muscle massage. The Danish players gathered in tears for their teammates. Finally, Eriksen was driven out of the interior of the stadium on a rescue stretcher, under privacy protection, and taken to the hospital. Bad memories were awakened from the semifinals of the Confederations Cup 2003 in Lyon, when the Cameroonian Marc-Vivien Foé suddenly collapses in the game against Colombia and remains motionless at the center line. Shortly afterwards Foé died. The cause of death was heart failure.

“This is a situation that is madness, without words. We just hope for the best,” said ex-national player Christoph Kramer on ZDF. “I am in a state of shock, I have no words and I actually never miss the words. These are scenes that I have never seen before.” ZDF and Magenta TV then temporarily interrupted their broadcast from Copenhagen, but then switched back to continuing the game.

The midfielder of the Italian champions Inter Milan is the star of the Danish team. He has already played his 109th international match against Finland and has scored 36 goals. In January 2010 Eriksen made his professional debut for the Dutch record champions Ajax Amsterdam, with whom he became champions in 2011, 2012 and 2013. This was followed by his move to the Premier League top club Tottenham Hotspur, where his career really picked up speed. He has been playing in Serie A for Inter since January 2020. In Denmark he has been voted Footballer of the Year several times.

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