Audio By Carbonatix
Finland won their first game at a major finals as they beat Denmark in a Euro 2020 match that was overshadowed by Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsing on the pitch.
Eriksen, 29, collapsed after 41 minutes and received CPR on the pitch as his visibly-distressed team-mates surrounded him and fans around the world watched in shock.
After approximately 15 minutes of treatment, the Inter Milan star was carried off on a stretcher. Supporters from both countries chanted his name while both sets of teams spent the next hour in their dressing rooms.
Only when informed that he was awake in hospital did the players agree to resume the match.
At 19:05 BST, two hours five minutes after kick-off, Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel returned to the pitch, before the Finland players applauded all the Danish squad members and the spectators in Copenhagen gave all the players a standing ovation.
The match resumed at 19:30 BST with the final four minutes of the first half played before a five-minute break for half time and then the second half.
Before Eriksen's worrying collapse, Denmark had been the better team, with Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky saving Jonas Wind's 20-yard effort and tipping a header from Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg over the bar.
The match, the third of the delayed Euro 2020, had begun in a raucous, passionate atmosphere with more than 15,000 people at the Parken Stadium in the Danish capital. But, unsurprisingly, it was far more subdued on the restart as attention focused on Eriksen's health.
The visitors, who have never qualified for a World Cup and were playing in their first European Championship finals game, took the lead when Schmeichel was unable to keep out Joel Pohjanpalo's header following Jere Uronen's cross.
Denmark had a chance to equalise when they were given a penalty after Paulus Arajuuri was judged to have fouled Yussef Poulsen, but Hojbjerg's poor spot-kick was saved by Hradecky.
Latest Stories
-
Today’s Front pages: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
13 seconds -
Auditing the Auditor-General: How special audit understated a COVID-19 expenditure
43 minutes -
A Partnership for Progress: Why the ProMark–KPMG collaboration matters for Africa’s digital assets future
52 minutes -
Catholic Bishops pressure gov’t to sign long-delayed mission schools agreement
2 hours -
Cedi under fresh pressure as Christmas import demand drives dollar surge
2 hours -
Ato Forson eyes first-week November for 2027 Budget, promises jobs and major infrastructure push
2 hours -
Catholic Bishops demand probe into ‘protocol admissions’ amid SHS placement challenges
3 hours -
SHS placement: Catholic Bishops demand probe into alleged payments for school places
3 hours -
Facts about Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery Initial Public Offering
3 hours -
Trump says AI safety fears a ‘hoax’ as he rejects calls for greater safeguards
3 hours -
Oil climbs as Saudi pipeline outage, fresh attacks heighten supply concerns
4 hours -
Donald Trump Jr and Bettina Trump say Putin ally paid for some wedding festivities as a ‘gift’
4 hours -
Farouk Aliu Mahama supports medical student with GH¢10,000 donation
4 hours -
EU is set to propose ban on social media and AI chatbots for under-15s
4 hours -
No SHS space shortage – GES says 800,000 places available for just over 600,000 students
4 hours