Denmark

Subterms

    Latest story

    163 Shares199 Views

    Tunisia’s World Cup exit was a wild ride. Denmark’s was a frustrating one.

    by

    As World Cup drama goes, it was a remarkable couple of minutes. A last stand by Tunisia. A late goal by France. A lead lost. A result overturned. And then a video review, and it all flipped back in a moment.And none of it mattered.Tunisia went out of the World Cup on Wednesday in the strangest of circumstances: victors over France, 1-0, when a late French equalizer was disallowed 12 minutes into second-half injury time, but already eliminated a few minutes earlier by Australia’s 1-0 victory against Denmark.The results of those two games, played out simultaneously in stadiums only six miles apart, settled the standings in Group D: France (6 points) edged out Australia (6) on goal difference, and left Tunisia (4) and Denmark (1) packing their bags.Australia’s moment was a rare soccer success for its men’s team: The first time it has advanced to the knockout round since 2006, which was the only previous time it survived the group stage.Its goal came in a blur: Breaking out after a Denmark attack fizzled, Mathew Leckie took a pass near the center circle, swept around a Danish defender and sent a low shot past Denmark’s diving goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel.Denmark sent on one attacking option after another to chase the goals it needed to secure its way out of the group, but none of them worked. The World Cup will be remembered as a major failure for the Danes, who reached the semifinals in the 2020 European Championship but managed only a single point — from a dreary scoreless draw — through three games in Qatar.The World Cup will be remembered as a major failure for Denmark.Paul Ellis/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesTunisia, meanwhile, had briefly thought it had punched its ticket to the second round on Wahbi Khazri’s slaloming goal in the 58th minute. But before its fans had finished celebrating, Leckie scored for Australia, and only a goal by the Danes could save the Tunisians. It never came.Tunisia’s exit was confirmed when Australia’s game went final, and its disappointment was doubled minutes later when an Antoine Griezmann goal appeared to rob it of even the consolation prize of a final victory.But after a pause and a video review, Griezmann’s goal was disallowed because he had been offside in the buildup. Suddenly the Tunisians’ lead had been restored. Their fans, crushed moments earlier by the news of their team’s World Cup exit, burst into cheers at the news that they would at least go out a winner.It wasn’t what any of them would have wanted. But after a five-minute emotional journey in which they had been eliminated, robbed of a win and then handed it back, that prize felt like a moral victory. More

    More stories

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Soccer

      Denmark’s Secret at Euro 2020? There Is No Secret.

      by

      Sometimes, timing and talent and teaching converge. Sometimes there is a story to tell and a path others can follow. And sometimes there is not.Jan Laursen was inside the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on the afternoon Denmark lost to Belgium. The result, at the time, felt secondary. For most in the crowd, the game was a chance to show their affection not only for the absent Christian Eriksen, but for a team that had acted with such grace and courage even in the thick of primal horror. More

    • 125 Shares129 Views

      in Soccer

      Euro 2020: Denmark Stuns Russia to Reach Round of 16

      by

      A 4-1 victory over Russia sent Denmark to the knockout stages, a stunning turn in a tournament that began with the collapse of Denmark’s star, Christian Eriksen.Denmark’s players gathered in a circle on the field at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and stared intently at a staff member’s phone. They must have known, by then, that they had qualified for the last 16 of the European Championship, but they wanted to be sure. They wanted to see the score confirmed, officially.The Danes had come into their final group-stage game on Monday needing the dice to roll in their favor to make it through. They required a win against Russia on home soil, and for Belgium to beat Finland in St. Petersburg. That they had a chance at all, though — that their coach, Kasper Hjulmand, could tell his players that this was the start, not the end, of their tournament — was remarkable in itself.It is not yet 10 days since Hjulmand admitted that his players were “broken,” traumatized by the experience of seeing their friend and teammate Christian Eriksen collapse on the field during their opening game against Finland, forced to stand guard around him as his heart was restarted as he lay motionless on the turf, and to accompany him from the field as he was taken to a hospital.Denmark’s players formed a worried circle around Christian Eriksen on June 12. Later, they wondered if they should have played at all.Pool photo by Friedemann VogelThey had to comfort his distraught partner, and then endure the most agonizing wait to discover if he was out of danger. Soccer’s place in the pecking order was illustrated by the squad’s insistence it would not decide whether that game would continue or not until the players had word about Eriksen’s health.Only when they were told that he was conscious and speaking at the hospital did they press on, playing the game the same evening because — as Hjulmand said — they could not bear to face a night of sleepless worry and then have to start again the next day. They played, and lost. A few days later, in front of an emotional crowd of about 25,000 fans at Parken, they played and lost again, this time to Belgium.That was hardly surprising. Hjulmand had said that counseling would be available to all of his squad, should they feel the need, but it would take some time for that to have an impact. This was not the sort of blow you shake off in time for the next game.Still, Denmark had one more chance. It had taken the lead, through Eriksen’s replacement, Mikkel Damsgaard, and doubled it through Yussuf Poulsen, but Finland was still stubbornly holding on in St. Petersburg. And then a roar swept around Parken: News had filtered across the Baltic that Belgium had scored. Only, as it turned out, the goal was ruled out — after a short delay — for offside.Defender Andreas Christensen scored Denmark’s third goal.Pool photo by Stuart FranklinAs Denmark was absorbing that blow, Russia won — and converted — a penalty kick. Everything hung in the balance once more. Again, Denmark was made to wait.A few minutes later, there was another roar from the stands, this one a little more reticent. This time Belgium had taken the lead. This time the goal counted. Denmark could relax. When Andreas Christensen scored a third, and Joakim Maehle a fourth, the team and the stadium and the nation could celebrate. Maehle ran to the crowd, holding up the numbers 1 and 0 with his fingers: Eriksen’s jersey number.“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Maehle told the Danish broadcaster DR.Denmark’s prize is a round of 16 match on Saturday, against Wales, in Amsterdam, at the stadium where Eriksen made his name. It does not matter at all, not in the grand scheme of things, but still, it means the world. More

    • 88 Shares149 Views

      in Soccer

      Christian Eriksen Will Have a Defibrillator Implanted

      by

      The Denmark player collapsed during a Euro 2020 game on Saturday. The device could allow him to resume his career.Christian Eriksen, the Danish soccer player who collapsed on the field during a game at the European Championship, will have a defibrillator implanted to help prevent future heart episodes, Denmark’s team doctor said Thursday.The device, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, or I.C.D., will be placed under Eriksen’s skin and monitor his heart rhythm. A combination pacemaker and defibrillator, the device tracks a person’s heartbeat and can send electrical pulses to restore a normal rhythm as needed.“After Christian has been through different heart examinations, it has been decided that he should have an I.C.D. (heart starter),” the doctor, Morten Boesen, said in a statement released by Denmark’s soccer federation. “This device is necessary after a cardiac attack due to rhythmic disturbances.”“Christian has accepted the solution,” it added.The doctor did not address Eriksen’s possible return to the sport.Another player taking part in the Euros, Daley Blind of the Netherlands, had a similar device implanted in 2019 after two in-game collapses, although it was not known how directly comparable his condition is to Eriksen’s. Blind and Eriksen are friends and former teammates at the Dutch powerhouse Ajax Amsterdam.Eriksen, 29, collapsed on the field late in the first half of a game against Finland at Euro 2020 on Saturday, and then received lifesaving treatment, including C.P.R., as his teammates and fans at the game in Copenhagen — and a global television audience — looked on in shock. After a delay, the game was restarted, a decision that has been heavily criticized in Denmark, including by the team’s current and former players and its head coach. Finland went on to win, 1-0.Eriksen released a message and photograph from the hospital on Tuesday thanking fans for their good wishes, saying, “I’m fine, under the circumstances.”Manager Kasper Hjulmand of Denmark said he expected that Eriksen would watch the game from the hospital. After the loss to Finland, the game is critical for Denmark’s hopes of advancing at the tournament.Belgian players have said they plan to kick the ball out of bounds in the 10th minute of the game as a tribute to Eriksen, who wears No. 10 when playing for Denmark. Several Belgian players, including striker Romelu Lukaku, have played alongside Eriksen for European club teams.Simon Kjaer, the Denmark captain, was among the first to reach Eriksen when he collapsed on Saturday, and he appeared near tears as he warmed up for the restart 90 minutes later. Kjaer was substituted in the second half of the match, but was returned to the starting lineup that will face Belgium on Thursday.On Thursday, he released a statement to fans in which he said the team would “enter the pitch against Belgium with Christian in our hearts and thoughts.”“It gives us peace in our minds, which allows us to focus on the game of football,” he said of knowing Eriksen’s condition had stabilized. “We will play for Christian, and as always for all of Denmark. That is the greatest motivation for all of us.” More

    • 113 Shares139 Views

      in Soccer

      Denmark's Christian Eriksen Is Stable and Talking to Friends

      by

      Christian Eriksen was in “stable” condition in a Copenhagen hospital, Denmark’s soccer federation said in a statement on Sunday, a day after he collapsed and received life-saving medical treatment on the field during a Euro 2020 match against Finland.Eriksen had “sent his greetings to his teammates,” the statement said, but remain in the hospital for further examination.Update regarding Christian Eriksen. pic.twitter.com/YuKD9hS9LV— DBU – En Del Af Noget Større (@DBUfodbold) June 13, 2021
      The 29-year-old Eriksen is being treated at Rigshospitalet, which sits less than a mile away from Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, where the game was played.Eriksen, an attacking midfielder and the creative engine of Denmark’s team, suddenly stumbled and collapsed to the turf in the 42nd minute of a game against Finland on Sunday.Medical teams, summoned urgently by teammates and opponents who immediately sensed the severity of his condition, worked quickly to stabilize Eriksen on the grass. They continued for 20 minutes as the stunned crowd at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium and a global television audience looked on.In an effort to protect Eriksen, his teammates and members of Denmark’s staff formed a circle around him to shield him, and the medics, as they worked. Photographs of Eriksen leaving on a stretcher showed him awake.Christian Eriksen was awake when we left the field on a stretcher Saturday.Pool photo by Friedemann VogelThe match was briefly suspended but resumed about 90 minutes later — with the consent of players on both teams, and only after the Danes had received word on Eriksen’s improved condition. Finland won, 1-0.Not everyone was able to continue. A few players were in tears as they warmed up for the resumption of play. Not all of them could complete the game, Denmark’s coach, Kasper Hjulmand, said afterward.“It’s a traumatic experience,” Hjulmand said. “The attitude was, ‘Let’s go out and try to do what we can.’ And then we talked about allowing to have all these feelings. And it was OK to say no if they weren’t able to play. Some of them said that they wanted to try. And I said no matter what feelings they had, it was all OK. You had to allow yourself to try to play the game if you felt like it. And you had to dare to show happy emotions. But it was OK to say no. Because some of them they weren’t able to, they weren’t able to play.”Hjulmand told reporters that his team would be provided counseling and any other assistance it needs as it tries to navigate the rest of the tournament.“We will spend the next few days processing this as best we can,” Hjulmand said. More