Denmark footballer Christian Eriksen collapses on pitch

Sunday, 7 June 2026 20:02

Danish footballer Christian Eriksen has collapsed during Denmark's friendly against Ukraine.

The former Tottenham and Manchester United midfielder collapsed on the pitch at the Nature Energy Park stadium in Odense, Denmark's third-largest city.

Footage showed the 34-year-old clutching his chest with both hands in the 65th minute of the game and falling to the ground. He was later seen surrounded by players of both teams as medics tended to him.

The Danish Football Federation said in a post on X that Eriksen is "conscious and feeling well under the circumstances", adding that the game had been abandoned.

Eriksen previously suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the pitch during a Euro 2020 game against Finland in 2021.

He was later fitted with a special heart-starting device known as an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator.

Morten Boesen, Denmark's team doctor, said in a statement via the federation: "Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch himself.

"As I see it, the pacemaker is responding as it should. He was briefly gone, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him.

"He will now undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident. We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital.

"But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was okay."

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Neither Denmark nor ⁠Ukraine qualified for this year's World Cup.

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