Euro 2020: Denmark draw strength as team mate Eriksen remains stable

Danish player Christian Eriksen’s condition remains stable after he suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during his side’s Euro 2020 opening match against Finland, the Danish football association’s communications director told reporters on Monday.

“We were in touch with him yesterday and today. (His) condition is the same as yesterday – stable, good,” Jakob Hoeyer told reporters.

Denmark’s other players, meanwhile, said they would play their coming games in the Euros in honour of their team mate, who collapsed in the 42nd minute of the match on Saturday and was treated on the pitch before being taken to hospital.

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“We’re still in the tournament. Now, we have to try to see if we can win this and do it for Christian and do it for all the fans who sat with us and were just as powerless in the situation as we were,” Denmark’s goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel told broadcaster DR.

“I have no doubt that this team has the unity, the strength to be able to come together and go out and do something special”, he added.

Schmeichel said he had also visited Eriksen at the hospital: “It was damn nice to see him smile and laugh and be himself and just feel that he is there. It was a great experience and something that has helped me a lot”.

Schmeichel and other players were meeting the press for the first time since the match against Finland, which the Danes lost 0-1.

Denmark still has a chance of reviving their Euro 2020 hopes in the final two Group B games against Belgium on Thursday and Russia on June 21.

“We all play for Christian. That’s for sure,” Danish player Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg told DR.