Christian Eriksen: Denmark lost but football won

The football world would have been thrown into mourning last Saturday, but for the exceptional work of medical practitioners who came to the aid of Christian Eriksen.

The Inter Milan midfielder collapsed three minutes to the end of the first half of the European Championship opener against Finland. He received a throw-in from a teammate, only to slump afterward. Everyone inside the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen were left distraught as Eriksen was treated on the pitch.

In a show of solidarity, his teammates held their hands and prayed for him. The traumatic event affected the Finish players too, as confusion rented the air.

Eriksen’s wife and son were in the stadium and will not forget the harrowing experience in a hurry. Social media was awash with well wishes and messages of hope from fans.

Subsequently, the match was suspended as UEFA continued to monitor the situation.

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The situation became intense as the medical team made the decision to barricade him. But calm returned when the medics carried him out on a stretcher. Eriksen was seen holding his head by himself and this was a relief to many, especially his teammates who had already cried their hearts out.

Denmark played for Eriksen and football won

A few minutes after he was confirmed to be stable, a decision had to be made by the players. The likes of Teemu Pukki, and Martin Braithwaite said that was the hardest decision they had ever made.

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UEFA was criticized for boxing them into a corner; they either play the remaining part of the game later that night or at 12 noon the next day. These are human beings that had just lived through over an hour of shock, only to return to the pitch two hours after the incident.

But one can’t lay all the blame on the governing body. The tournament must continue and no team is ready to sacrifice points. In the end, Denmark lost the game 1-0 in front of their fans who didn’t leave the stadium as they awaited news concerning one of their own.

Denmark may have lost the match but the team played for Eriksen and will continue to do so till the end of the tournament. The likes of Romelu Lukaku of Belgium have dedicated their goals to the Danish midfielder as they wish him a speedy recovery.

The good news is that Christian Eriksen wrote on his social media page on Tuesday morning. He expressed appreciation to everyone. More tests will be carried out before knowing if he would continue the business or stop playing like Fabrice Muamba. Eriksen has promised to cheer the team on from his hospital bed.

Kudos to the medical team, who rescued Eriksen as well. They have their names in the history books. They did a magnificent job on him. It was a hard battle fought and it cab be said that football finally won.