Belgium, Denmark pause to pay tribute
Substitute Kevin de Bruyne set up one goal and scored the winner himself to give Belgium a 2-1 victory over Denmark in a European Championship game marked by an emotional tribute to Christian Eriksen in the first half.
De Bruyne came on after halftime for his first appearance since sustaining a facial fracture in the Champions League final and squared the ball for Thorgan Hazard to equalize in the 55th minute. He then scored in the 71st with a low shot from outside the area.
It was Denmark’s first game since Eriksen’s collapse, and the hosts started at a furious pace at a raucous Parken Stadium. Yussuf Poulsen scored with a low shot inside the far post in only the second minute.
Players from both teams then halted play after 10 minutes as the 25,000 fans rose for a minute of thunderous applause in tribute to Eriksen,
who wears the No. 10 shirt for Denmark’s national team.
The players joined the applause as well, as did referee Bjorn Kuipers.
Eriksen remains in a nearby hospital after suffering cardiac arrest in the team’s opening game against Finland.
Eriksen will be fitted with an implantable device to monitor his heart rhythm, the Danish soccer federation
said Thursday.
The victory give Belgium a spot in the round of 16. Denmark can still advance with a win over Russia on Monday if the Belgians beat Finland.
Ukraine 2, North Macedonia 1
BUCHAREST, ROMANIA — Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk both scored again, and this time it was enough.
The pair of forwards netted a goal each in the first half Thursday to give Ukraine a 2-1 victory over North Macedonia at the European Championship.
The same two players also scored in the team’s opening match at Euro 2020 on Sunday, but that ended up being a 3-2 loss to the Netherlands.
Netherlands 2, Austria 0
This time, the AMSTERDAM —
Netherlands never looked like throwing away their twogoal lead.
Memphis Depay and Denzel Dumfries scored a goal in each half as the Dutch comfortably beat Austria 2-0 Thursday to advance to the round of 16 at the European Championship.
The Netherlands is playing at a major international soccer tournament for the first time in seven years and qualified for the knockout stage with a game to spare.