After a traumatic incident at the start of the tournament when star midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the pitch, the Danes surprisingly entered the knockout phase on Monday for the first time since 2004.
Denmark started the day last in Group B with zero points after dropping the competitions on Finland and Belgium, but was mathematically still alive.
Then Denmark beat Russia 4-1 to score the coveted three points and secure second place with Russia and Finland (who lost 2-0 to Belgium at the same time). The three-goal win gave Denmark the best goal difference among the three teams and pushed the Danes out of the group stage.
That result was hard to imagine nine days earlier given the grim scenes of Eriksen’s life-threatening collapse during the game against Finland. Danish team doctor Morten Boesen said 29-year-old Eriksen was « gone » before being revived. The game was paused and resumed a few hours later, and Eriksen’s shocked Danish teammates struggled to focus during the remaining 1-0 defeat.
« We shouldn’t have played, » said the Dane Kasper Hjulmand after the game. « Players react differently to shock and trauma, but we’ll try to get back to normal as much as possible.
» What we tried was incredible. It’s unbelievable that the players managed to go out and try to play the second half. ”
Eriksen’s condition improved over the past week and he was discharged from the hospital on Friday. In a statement, Eriksen said he would cheer his team on against Russia.
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