All 832 players at the FIFA World Cup will arrive in Qatar with the backing of a nation. Only one, perhaps, will take to the field with the support of the whole world.
The last time we saw Christian Eriksen at a major tournament, after all, he was being resuscitated on the field after suffering a cardiac arrest at UEFA EURO 2020. A global TV audience watched, horrified, as Denmark’s star player, in his own words, “died for five minutes” before the Parken paramedics succeeded in restarting his heart.
Experts warned at the time that it was possible, even likely, that we would never see Eriksen play again. Remarkably, however, and having been fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), he was back among the game’s elite within nine months.
When a return to the national team followed soon after, he scored inside two minutes – with his first touch no less – and went on to crash home a brilliant goal in his first match at Parken Stadium since collapsing there. It is truly the stuff of football fairy tales, and the return of this much-admired midfield playmaker to the global stage is sure to warm hearts everywhere.
In this interview with FIFA, Eriksen explained that the World Cup was his target from the earliest stage of his recovery, and relived the experience of watching Denmark reach the EURO semi-finals without him.
On memories of the EURO
“After what happened to me, I was just at home watching the team play and seeing everyone having a party. I watched people in the streets, saw how well everything went and I was so annoyed that I couldn’t be a part of it. After just a few days I felt as normal as possible, but I couldn’t be a part of it all.
“At the same time, I didn’t begrudge my team-mates the success at all. I still texted them and talked to them, trying my best to push them in the right direction while at the same time wishing I was there. I take my hat off to them that they managed to turn what happened into something positive and that it became about football in the end.
“Did it make my recovery easier or harder?
Harder, I think, because I was constantly reminded – there was an article about it, or me, every day, so there wasn’t an opportunity to shut down. After the EURO was finished I could say, ‘Ok, now football is over and we can focus on the person and not much else.’ While the tournament was on that was difficult.”
On Denmark’s impressive results in World Cup qualifying
“We’ve been playing well and getting good results. Our good form continued after the EURO in pretty much all of our matches and people were blown away by the attractive football we played and the number of goals we scored. It was nice to watch how well it went and see that the team was able to qualify for the World Cup so early.”
On Kasper Hjulmand’s impact as coach
“We have been able to build on what had been done by Age [Hareide, Denmark’s previous coach], who was also going through a good phase. Since Kasper has joined the results have got even better, football-wise it has got even better and we have more people in the stadium – people who identify with us and support the team. “(Tactically) Age was perhaps more direct, whereas Hjulmand prefers ball possession. He also knows the young players who’re coming into the squad very well and they know how to play under him, so it makes it easier for them to fall in line with the system. Those of us who have been with the team a while are all good players who know how to play football. Kasper has just helped push the last few things in the right direction.”
