Belgium wins the match, Eriksen wins the hearts

Arthur Greene

In their first game since Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch, Denmark and Belgium paused play to honour the 29 year old.

Despite a valiant display from Denmark, they ultimately couldn’t overcome the number-one ranked team in the world.

When play stopped in the 10th minute, any sense of rivalry gave way to absolute solidarity, as Danish and Belgian players joined together to cheer Eriksen, who no doubt would have been watching on from his hospital bed.

Prior to kickoff, the buildings surrounding Copenhagen’s stadium hung banners in support of Eriksen and a giant flag in the shape of his jersey was displayed on the pitch.

With seemingly the support of the whole world behind them, Denmark started the game brilliantly, taking the lead after just two minutes when the Dane Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg capitalised from a poor pass from Jason Denayer.

He passed it through to Yussuf Poulsen, who drilled the ball into the bottom corner. The Danish striker looked close to tears as he emphatically celebrated with his teammates.

Denmark continued to play brilliantly, but the sense of competition ceased in the 10th minute when play paused. 

Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who is Eriksen’s teammate at Inter Milan, hugged the Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel during the minute of applause.

It was a fitting tribute to Eriksen, who had to be given CPR on the pitch after he collapsed during  Denmark’s opening game of the European Championship against Finland.

News emerged earlier on Thursday that Eriksen’s heart will be fitted with a heart-starting device.

Following the applause, Denmark admirably had the better of Belgium in the first half.

But in the second, Belgium brought on the great Kevin de Bruyne, who led them to victory when he linked up with Lukaku to create the equaliser, before scoring the brilliant winner from outside the area.

In the 54th minute, Thorgan Hazard tapped home after Lukaku led a rapid counter attack. The forward played through De Bruyne, whose glorious first touch took out two Danish defenders, before laying it off to Hazard with his second.

Belgium dominated play from here on out, and the Man City playmaker won them the game in the 70th minute to take them through to the round of 16.

Image source: @SkySportsNews

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