Yahoo Movies Christian Eriksen: Denmark should not have resumed Finland match after collapse, says coach Kasper Hjulmand
Watch: 'We shouldn't have played': Denmark coach regrets restarting match after Eriksen collapse
Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand believes his side should not have resumed the Euro 2020 match against Finland following Christian Eriksen’s collapse.
Inter Milan star Eriksen fell to the ground shortly before half-time in Saturday’s Group B opener at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium and received treatment from medics, who performed CPR before the player was transferred to hospital.
Eriksen was able to talk to team doctor Morten Boesen before being taken to Copenhagen’s Rigshospitalet, where he was stabilised and will stay to undergo further examinations.
Boesen subsequently confirmed at a press conference on Sunday that Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest and “was gone” before being resuscitated after one defibrillation.
Eriksen’s collapse led to the Denmark-Finland match being suspended, though it later resumed - with Finland winning 1-0 thanks to Joel Pohjanpalo’s header - after Uefa gave the option of finishing it the same evening or alternatively at noon the next day.
Despite the obvious anguish experienced by the Denmark players that created a shield around their stricken team-mate as he received medical treatment, they did agree to the first option after it was confirmed that Eriksen was stable.
However, in hindsight Hjulmand believes that was the wrong decision.
“No we should not have played,” he said on Sunday. “We will try tomorrow to establish normality as much as possible. Players have different reactions to shocks and trauma but we will try to get back to normal as much as possible.
“I get the feelings from the players that maybe the time is too short to try to play football again, but maybe we can use it as a force to get together and try to go out and do our best in the next match [against Belgium on Thursday].
“We will see if we can get ourselves together and play for Christian.”
Boesen agreed with Hjulmand that Denmark should not have resumed the match on Saturday night, though he praised the assistance available to the squad at their hotel later that evening.
“I don’t think the right decision was to play the game,” Boesen said. “We have had help from a psychological point of view at the hotel last night.
“Everyone expressed their feelings and how they saw the situation, and everyone was pleased we did this and talked it through.
“We really appreciated the professional help we have had from the outside.”
Watch: How Denmark team doctor, medics saved Eriksen’s life
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