On Saturday June 12th 2021, Denmark clashed with Finland at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen in the first Group B match at the 2020 European Championships.
Finland were making their first ever appearance at a major international tournament, and Denmark was hosting its first match ever of such significance.
The Finns won the game 1-0 thanks to a Joel Pohjanpalo goal, but the game was marred by a near disaster involving one of the most prominent players on the Denmark team, their talismanic number ten and attacking midfielder, Christian Eriksen.
The game was tired at 0-0, and halftime was rapidly approaching when in the 42nd minute, a seemingly tired Eriksen lumbered forward to make himself available for a pass before falling face-down to the turf.
For a few brief seconds, all seemed normal as players fall all the time on the pitch, but Finland midfielder Robin Lod began to gesticulate wildly, prompting referee Anthony Taylor to blow his whistle and invite the medical team onto the pitch as it looked like an emergency.
Within seconds, Denmark captain Simon Kjaer had arrived by the side of Eriksen and stuck his finger in his mouth to prevent him from swallowing his tongue while the medical team raced from the other end of the pitch.
Upon the arrival of the medical team, the players linked their arms together to screen and provide privacy for their stricken teammate who was receiving chest compressions to restart his heart.
He had suffered a cardiac arrest, and a defibrillator was quickly brought onto the pitch and used to set his heart back to sinus rhythm before it could cause any further damage.
His partner Sabrina Kvist Jensen made her way down to the pitch where she was consoled by captain Kjaer and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Andreas Christensen and Thomas Delaney were clearly distraught and in tears as they watched from a distance.
Eriksen was treated for 10 minutes on the pitch before he was certified to have been stabilised and sent to the hospital for a proper check up, and the match was suspended for some hours.
Christian Eriksen had suffered a cardiac arrest, the team doctor confirmed it, and his heart had stopped beating. The timely intervention of the medical team and use of the defibrillator saved the life of the 29-year-old Inter Milan man, bringing the story of former Ajax youngster AbdelHak Nouri into perspective.
The then-teenage sensation suffered a cardiac arrest while representing Ajax in a preseason friendly, and no defibrillator was brought early enough, causing him to suffer significant tissue damage to his brain and leaving him unable to stand, talk, walk or even sit anymore. The rapid action of the Danish medical team saved Eriksen from potentially suffering the same fate.
Upon his collapse on the pitch, the entire football world began to mutter silent prayers to whatever Gods they worshipped to make him survive, and one of the more prominent ones was former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba who had suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch in a Premier League game.
His heart stopped for 78 minutes, and he was forced to retire. It was later announced that he was in good spirits in the hospital, causing the world to heave a collective sigh of relief.
The game ultimately continued after the incident, causing complaints from all over the football world, but it was revealed that Eriksen had asked his teammates to play the game.
Following their loss, the manager Kasper Hjulmand was in tears as her performed his post-match press duties, stating that his players had no choice but to complete the game, and most of them were emotionally drained following the incident.
Eriksen is fine now, and punters interested in betting on football can be rest assured that the tournament is ongoing and won’t stop despite the clamour from various groups about the apparent lack of care for players’ welfare from the governing bodies. This topic will continue to be raised, but the show must go on.
