Eriksen incident ‘did something to the squad’ – Kjaer says united Denmark not happy with semi-final spot
Denmark captain Simon Kjaer has said that Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest in their opening Euro 2020 match pulled the squad together and helped to inspire them to the semi-finals.
The Danes suffered a 1-0 loss to Finland in that encounter, which was subject to a long delay in the midst of the match, and suffered a 2-1 loss to Belgium in their subsequent match. However, they recovered to beat Russia to qualify for the last 16, in which they beat Wales 4-0.
Speaking after a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in Baku, Kjaer explained that the Danes are not content, however, with simply reaching the final four.
What did he say?
Asked about the impact that Eriksen’s illness had on the squad, he said: “It did something to the group. We thrive and we’re safe together. We know we can trust the people around us. We know that if one of us is in trouble, then someone else is there for you.
“It gives us security and of course it makes Christian feel good.
“We can press because we know that the player next to us is there to back us up.”
Meanwhile, Kjaer is targeting a place in the final, with England awaiting in the last four at Wembley.
“It’s huge, this is insane,” he said in reference to the win over the Czechs. “We aimed to go to Wembley and now we will. But I would be lying if I said we’re OK with that.
“Now we have to enjoy it and recover, but we also have a match in four days.”