Christian Eriksen collapsed for the second time in five years on a football pitch on Sunday evening, momentarily losing consciousness before regaining his senses and walking to an ambulance. The 34-year-old Denmark midfielder went down in the 64th minute of a friendly against Ukraine in Odense, clutching his chest – a sight that reduced teammates to tears and forced the immediate abandonment of the match.
Denmark were leading 2–1 at the time through first-half goals from Patrick Dorgu and Joakim Maelhe, but the scoreline was rendered irrelevant as players from both sides formed a ring around Eriksen while medical staff treated him. Security guards held up large black sheeting to shield the scene from cameras and fans.
“Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's friendly against Ukraine, briefly unconscious, but walked off after treatment.”
The incident came five years after Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during a European Championship match against Finland in 2021, when his heart stopped for roughly five minutes and he received life-saving CPR on the pitch. He was later fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) – a type of pacemaker – which allowed him to resume his career, first with Brentford and later with Manchester United, before joining Wolfsburg last summer.
Sunday’s collapse happened during his 151st international appearance. Denmark’s national team doctor Morten Boesen, who also led the resuscitation effort in 2021, said: “Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should. He was briefly unconscious, 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.”
Boesen added: “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 OK.”
Denmark captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg told Danish broadcaster TV2: “There’s a throw-in, and then I go out to the side. I turn around a bit, and I see Christian on his way to the floor, and we know a little about how he reacts, what that means. Everyone reacted super-fast and with respect. I can only compliment how much courage those who took care of Christian on the field had. The most important thing is that Christian is doing well.”
Former Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner, working as a pundit for TV2, fought back tears as he described the scenes: “These are horrible pictures, and it completely overshadows the rest of the evening. My thoughts are with the family and the children, and it’s a difficult situation to be in right now. This is the second time it has happened, and as Christian’s friend also … it’s really terrible.”
Denmark head coach Brian Riemer said: “The most important thing is that Christian is doing well. And he has. He has left the pitch and has sent a greeting to the players. But that’s why the experience is still scary.”
The Danish Football Association earlier confirmed Eriksen was conscious and “doing well under the circumstances”. The friendly, between two sides who had not qualified for the World Cup, was abandoned as Eriksen was taken to hospital for further tests. The hope is that the ICD, which can reset the heart after a cardiac arrest, has once again saved his life.