Christian Eriksen collapse a ‘prime example’ of how fragile life is, admits former Spurs teammate Harry Kane

England’s players were on the coach down to London from their training camp at St George’s Park when they saw Christian Eriksen collapse on the pitch.

Players like to relax in different ways during the two-and-a-half hour journey to Wembley and a few of them were watching Denmark’s game against Finland on an iPad.

The whole coach was in shock – watching one of the world’s leading midfielders, a recent Serie A winner with Inter Milan, suffer a cardiac arrest and have to be resuscitated with a defibrillator – a man, like them, at peak fitness almost dying. For a few in the vehicle, Eriksen is a friend and a former team-mate.

England captain Harry Kane, who played with Eriksen for seven years at Tottenham Hotspur, is particularly close.

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“My wife managed to speak to his wife and she said they are doing OK,” Kane said. “They are going through the checks. It was a scary time for him and his family as well. It was dreadful to watch. I am wishing him all the best and his family all the best and I am hoping he makes a speedy recovery.”

For many of this group of young men in prime condition, who eat well, drink little, spend hours every day honing their muscles and testing their heart and lungs, it would have made them confront mortality for, perhaps, the first time. What happened to Eriksen puts everything into perspective.

“Sometimes we take things for granted and we take football for granted and life for granted,” Kane told ITV. “That was a reminder that things can be taken away so quickly. It was a dreadful thing to watch.

“For us it is just about enjoying this experience, enjoying this tournament and going out there with no fear. We want to win, we are all winners, we are passionate to win – just express yourself and enjoy the occasion because they don’t come around too often.”

Does a tragedy such as Eriksen’s emphasise how anything could happen? “Absolutely, and that was the prime example at the weekend,” Kane added.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was a late arrival into the England squad, one who had the tournament not been delayed by a year might not have made it. He spent time at non-league Stalybridge Celtic when the team had to share training pitches with a local college.

The Everton striker recalled the moment the team realised what had happened to Eriksen and how it has made him reflect on what he has achieved.

Denmark's coach Kasper Hjulmand speaks to journalists at the team's training grounds in Helsingor, north of Copenhagen, on June 15, 2021, during the UEFA EURO 2020 European Football Championship. (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
Kasper Hjulmand was critical of Uefa after Denmark played the rest of the game against Finland on Saturday night (Photo: AFP)

“It was just complete shock,” Calvert-Lewin said. “It’s very scary. And I think if anything it makes you realise how precious life is and how important it is to enjoy every moment that you live.

“We live in a very cynical world and people are very critical of other people. I think for me that moment… it was quite emotional because you never want to see that happen and it can happen, I suppose, to anyone.”

Denmark’s head coach, Kasper Hjulmand, criticised Uefa for strictly following their rulebook meaning his players were told they must conclude the game in less than 24 hours or face forfeiting it.

“Coronavirus allows you to postpone a match for 48 hours,” Hjulmand said. “A cardiac arrest obviously does not. That is wrong.”

“There is learning here. It was not the right decision to continue playing. The boys showed so much strength by going out and playing on. But I do not think it was the right thing to give us and the players the choice to go out and finish play on Saturday or Sunday.

“I felt that the players – and us close to them – were put under that pressure and were given that dilemma. It was a hugely difficult situation to be in.

“The only real leadership would have been to put the players on a bus and send them home and then deal with it after. You don’t necessarily find good leadership in the protocols. Good leadership can sometimes be to lead with compassion.”

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