Miracle man Eriksen nets
Paris – Denmark’s Christian Eriksen (above) made an emotional goal-scoring return to international football on Saturday as England, Germany and Spain carved out friendly victories.
Eriksen found the net two minutes after coming on with a powerful drive in a 4-2 defeat against fellow World Cup qualifiers Netherlands in Amsterdam.
It was his first national team appearance since suffering a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s opening game of the European Championships against Finland in Copenhagen last June.
On Saturday, to the resounding applause of fans and even Dutch manager Louis van Gaal, the 30-year-old came off the bench and raised his hands to the sky in thanks.
The goal was his 37th in 110 appearances. It was fitting he scored in the Amsterdam Arena, the home of Ajax.
Eriksen came through the ranks at the Dutch side, making 162 appearances for the club and winning five trophies, including three consecutive league titles between 2011 and 2013.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane converted a late penalty to close in on the all-time England goal-scoring record and secure a 2-1 win over Switzerland, who will also be at the World Cup in Qatar in November.
Kane netted from the spot to reach 49 England goals, moving him ahead of Gary Lineker and into a second place tie with Bobby Charlton.
Only Wayne Rooney, with 53 goals, has scored more times for England.
Breel Embolo put Switzerland ahead at Wembley after 22 minutes before Luke Shaw’s equaliser in first-half injury time. Kane restored order with his 78th-minute winner.
“You have to be ready for any chance at any moment. Penalties are a great way of getting on the score sheet, I practice and work on them a lot,” said Kane.
“It is amazing company to be with, super proud to be doing that but we look forward to the next one. A big year ahead to get more caps and more goals.”
Chelsea pair Kai Havertz and Timo Werner both hit the net as Germany eased past Israel 2-0 in Sinsheim.
Spain, World Cup winners in 2010, had to work hard to carve out a 2-1 win against Albania in Barcelona, the team’s first game in Catalonia since 2004 and topranked Belgium led twice in Dublin but were still held 2-2 by Ireland. –