England on Sunday launched their bid for Euro 2020 glory with a 1-0 win over Croatia, as Denmark’s team doctor confirmed Christian Eriksen had suffered a cardiac arrest and was “gone” before being resuscitated.
Raheem Sterling scored at a sun-baked Wembley Stadium in London as England won their opening game of a European Championships for the first time at the 10th attempt, but the action on the pitch was overshadowed by the fallout from the shocking events in Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium the previous day.
Inter star Eriksen suddenly collapsed in the 43rd minute of Denmark’s Group B game against Finland, lying motionless as medics administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the crowd looked on aghast.
Photo: AFP
The game was temporarily suspended awaiting updates on Eriksen’s health, but resumed later in the evening after reports filtered through that the player was in a stable condition and awake. It ended in a 1-0 win for debutants Finland.
“He was gone, and we did cardiac resuscitation, and it was cardiac arrest,” Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen told a news conference on Sunday, adding that so far there was no explanation for what happened.
“How close were we? I don’t know. We got him back after one defib [defibrillation], so that’s quite fast,” he said.
Players in the Denmark team were given the option to continue the game or postpone the match, but head coach Kasper Hjulmand said he regretted the decision to carry on.
“I honestly don’t think that we should have been on the pitch again,” Hjulmand said.
Denmark forward Martin Braithwaite called the incident “one of the scariest moments of my life.”
“I’m grateful that he’s stable and alive. Right now, that’s all that matters. Hope to see you soon my friend,” Braithwaite wrote on Twitter.
Manchester City’s Sterling scored his first goal at a major tournament as England gained a measure of revenge for their 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final defeat by Croatia.
The forward’s sharp finish in the second half was enough to send the Wembley crowd home happy.
Sterling grew up in the shadow of Wembley and justified manager Gareth Southgate’s decision to keep faith with him by scoring the only goal just before the hour.
“I always said if I played at Wembley in a major tournament, I’m scoring. I had to score in my back garden and delighted to do that,” Sterling told the BBC.
“I’m so pleased for Raheem, he’s had this hex in the tournaments. I felt he was dangerous all day. Right from the start he looked a threat,” Southgate said.
There were fears before the match that supporters would boo players for taking the knee to protest against racial injustice. There was a smattering of jeers from sections of the 22,500 crowd, but the majority cheered the gesture.
England are playing all three group games at their London home. If they top Group D they will also play there in the round-of-16, while London is also the venue for both semi-finals, as well as the final.
The Netherlands, back at a major tournament for the first time since 2014, defeated Ukraine 3-2 in a thrilling Group C encounter in Amsterdam.
Captain Georginio Wijnaldum put the hosts ahead early in the second half, before Wout Weghorst doubled their advantage.
Ukraine equalized with two quick goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk, but a Denzel Dumfries header five minutes from time earned Frank de Boer’s side victory.
North Macedonia lost 3-1 to Austria in Bucharest in their first match in a major tournament as an independent nation, despite an equalizer from 37-year-old captain Goran Pandev.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed the tournament for a year, is still proving a major headache.
Portugal defender Joao Cancelo tested positive and is out of Euro 2020, the defending champions announced.
Diogo Dalot has replaced the rightback in the Portugal squad.
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