Slovenia defends itself successfully
Danes fail to enhance Eriksen’s emotional European Championship return
16.06.2024, 19:52
Christian Eriksen returns to the European Championship stage after his cardiac arrest at the 2021 European Championship – and shoots his Danes into the lead. But that is not enough for the team, as Slovenia draws and spoils Eriksen’s fairytale.
Erik Janza ruined Danish football star Christian Eriksen’s fairytale return to the European Championship stage. 1,100 days after his cardiac arrest, the midfielder had put his team in the lead in the duel with Slovenia, but after Janza’s goal, the match ended 1:1 (0:1) in Stuttgart on Sunday.
Eriksen scored against the initially very defensive Slovenians in the 17th minute after an impressive pass from Wolfsburg’s Jonas Wind. Despite their superiority, the Danes were unable to score any more goals and decide the match early on. Instead, they had to accept the equalizer in the closing stages (77th minute). In their second match in Group C, they will face European runners-up England on Thursday, while Slovenia will play against Serbia.
“If he plays well, we play well,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said of Eriksen’s role before the match. The 32-year-old sets the rhythm and is “the heart” of the Danish attacking game. On June 12, 2021, however, the Manchester United professional’s heart stopped beating for several minutes in the European Championship match against Finland. Only thanks to cardiac massage and a defibrillator was he able to be resuscitated on the pitch and later return to professional football. Without Eriksen, the Danes then stormed into the semifinals.
Slovenia puts pressure on Denmark
On his return to the European Championship stage in the duel with the Slovenians, Eriksen took control of the game. There was hardly a move in which he was not involved. The Slovenians initially stood deep and sometimes had great problems breaking free. One of their few and most dangerous chances in the first half was missed by Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko with a long-range shot (16th minute). In return, Eriksen converted a brilliant backheel pass from Wind to make it 1-0. Slovenia’s starting goalkeeper and captain Jan Oblak was powerless.
Its association president, Radenko Mijatovic, had expressed hope before the start of the tournament. “It has often happened that small national teams have surprised us. Anything is possible in these tournaments,” he said. However, the approach was too cautious to cause a big surprise, especially in the first half.
The Danes dominated for long stretches, while the Slovenians remained winless in the fourth game of their European Championship history. However, the Scandinavians had to tremble several times after the break. First in a duel between Joachim Andersen and Andraz Sporar. Even after consulting the video assistant, referee Sandro Schärer from Switzerland did not award a penalty to the underdog.
In the 65th minute, Denmark’s promising striker Rasmus Höjlund was stopped by Oblak and missed the chance to decide the game, while on the other side Morten Hjulmand deflected Janza’s shot unstoppably. Before that, former Nuremberg player Adam Gnezda Cerin and Sporer had missed great chances to equalize (66th/75th). Sesko also failed to hit the post (76th).