Nice to see Eriksen smile and laugh, says Denmark goalkeeper Schmeichel
Jun 14, 2021
Copenhagen [Denmark], June 14 Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has provided a positive update on Christian Eriksen and he also criticised UEFA for restarting his side's match against Finland on the same day when Eriksen collapsed on the pitch in Euro 2020.
The match between Denmark and Finland on Saturday had to be stopped in the closing minutes of the first half as Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and had to be taken off due to medical emergency.
"It was damn nice to see him smile and laugh and be himself and just feel that he is there. It was a great experience and something that has helped me a lot," Schmeichel told broadcaster DR, as reported by Goal.com.
Eriksen's teammates had formed a ring around him as he was being attended to by doctors on the field. The midfielder was carried off in a stretcher. Following the request made by players of both teams, UEFA agreed to restart the match later in the evening with the Demark midfielder in a stable condition in hospital. Finland defeated Denmark 1-0 in their tournament opener.
Talking about the decision to restart the match, the Danish goalkeeper said: "We were put in a position I don't think we should have been put in. It probably required that someone above us had said that it was not the time to make a decision and maybe should wait for the next day."
On Sunday, Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen had confirmed that striker Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in the Euro 2020 game against Finland. Boesen also said that Eriksen was "gone", but the authorities were able to get him back after emergency CPR, which was quite fast.
"He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation, it was a cardiac arrest. How close were we to losing him? I don't know, but we got him back after one defib, so that's quite fast," Sky Sports had quoted Boesen as saying.
