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Christian Eriksen collapses during Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine
Christian Eriksen collapses during Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine
Andrés Soto, USA TODAYSun, June 7, 2026 at 6:45 PM UTC·1 min readDenmark's friendly against Ukraine on Sunday, June 7 took a scary turn when Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch.
The Danish midfielder grabbed his chest while playing defense and fell to the ground, prompting the surrounding players on both teams to immediately call for the training staff as the broadcast cameras quickly cut away from the scene.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter roughly 10 minutes, Eriksen was able to get up and walk to the ambulance under his own power.
"Christian Eriksen is conscious and doing well under the circumstances," Danish national team doctor Morten Boesen said in a statement. "The match has been called off."
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(Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images)This isn't the first time Eriksen's had a scare on the pitch.
In 2021, he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest after receiving a throw-in during the final minutes of the first half of Denmark's Euro match against Finland, but his life was saved when his teammate, Simon Kjær, sprung into action and rushed to put Eriksen on his side and make sure his airway was open before paramedics revived him with a defibrillator.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"He was gone," Boesen said the next day. "We started the resuscitation and we managed to do it. How close were we to losing him? I don’t know but we got him back after one (shock), so that’s quite fast."
A pacemaker was implanted in Eriksen's heart in the following days, which was likely activated when he collapsed on Sunday.
"He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him," Boesen said in Sunday's statement. "He will now undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christian Eriksen collapses during Denmark friendly against Ukraine