Eriksen stabilized, awake after collapsing on field
COPENHAGEN: Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen was taken to a hospital on Saturday after collapsing on the field during a match at the European Championship.
The governing body of European football (UEFA) said Eriksen has been stabilized and the Danish football federation said he was awake.
“Christian Eriksen is awake and is undergoing further examinations at Rigshospitalet,” the Danish federation wrote on Twitter.
UEFA said both teams had held an emergency meeting before deciding to continue playing. The players came back out onto the field to a huge ovation as they started warming up for a second time.
Eriksen was given urgent medical attention on the field near the end of the first half.
He was treated for about 10 minutes after collapsing. He was then carried off on a stretcher. UEFA then announced the game had been suspended “due to a medical emergency.” UEFA said the teams were having an emergency meeting and more information would be provided at 7:45 p.m. local time. A stadium announcer asked fans to stay in their seats and stay calm.
Eriksen had just played a short pass when he fell face-forward onto the ground. His teammates immediately gestured for help and medics rushed onto the field. Eriksen was given chest compressions as his Denmark teammates stood around him in a shielding wall for privacy.
The Finland players huddled by their bench and eventually walked off the field while Eriksen was still getting treatment, as did the referees.
Eriksen was eventually carried off to a loud ovation, with his teammates walking next to the stretcher. The game had been halted in the 43rd minute with the score 0-0.
Eriksen is one of Denmark’s biggest stars and the incident brought an instant sense of shock to the Parken Stadium, where about 15,000 fans fell into hushed silence. Some supporters could be seen crying and hugging in the stands.
Finland fans started chanting the name of the Inter Milan midfielder. Soon after stadiumwide chants of “Christian” and “Eriksen” from both sets of supporters began to ring out as his status began to filter through to supporters. The spectators were brought to their feet when stadium announcers said that Eriksen was “stable”.
Wales hold Switzerland
BAKU: Wales coach Robert Page praised Kieffer Moore after the towering striker claimed a point for Wales in a 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Saturday to start both teams’ campaigns.
Moore responded to Breel Embolo’s second-half opener with a quarter of an hour remaining. “I thought his link-up play was excellent, he’s not just a presence up top,” Page said after the game. He’s got a good touch for a big lad and he’s a willing runner. When you have all those attributes it can be a recipe for success.
“The group does look wide open apart from Italy as I sit here. We thought Italy would be good, they didn’t let us down last night.”
Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic said his outfit dropped their quality after Embolo’s effort. “Our opponents risked more after it. We dropped 10 percent in standard,” Petkovic said. “We wanted to control the match too much. They were dangerous.”
Page named Gareth Bale on the left wing as the Real Madrid attacker was one of three Wales survivors in the starting line-up from the 2016 semis loss to Portugal. Petkovic kept Benfica’s Haris Seferovic and Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Embolo up front despite Mario Gavranovic scoring four times in two pre-tournament friendlies.