Overcoming trauma and tribulation, Denmark have become the team that nobody wants to beat at Euro 2020 – but that is the task facing England at Wembley on Wednesday night.
Since the horror of Christian Eriksen’s collapse in their opening fixture against Finland, Kasper Schmeichel determined that he and his teammates would spend the remainder of the tournament trying to honour the playmaker.
The power of that message has not been lost on former England boss Glenn Hoddle, who himself suffered a cardiac arrest while filming at BT Sport’s studios in 2018.
Hoddle says he has reached out to Eriksen, whom he first met at Tottenham Hotspur‘s training ground, to offer his support.”I wasn’t watching it and I couldn’t watch it, it just brought too much home to me” Hoddle told i at a Betfair event.
“It was horrendous just seeing a photo of it. I did text him to see if he ever wanted to have a chat because I know what he’s going to have to go through. My case was a bit different to his but I know the impact. You’ve got three minutes with a cardiac arrest and every minute after that, you’ve got a chance of a massive stroke. It’s not good stats.
“And if you haven’t got people there – I was lucky enough to have [BT Sport sound engineer] Simon Daniels, Christian was on the pitch so he had the medical staff. Without that, you’re gone. I know the psychological things and if it’s similar to mine, the physical things he’s going to have to overcome. I just said ‘I’m here if you want a little chat if I can help in any way. But he’ll be glued to his TV like we all will be.”
In so many ways, the odds look to be shifting in England’s favour. Gareth Southgate’s side are yet to concede a goal and Harry Kane is back scoring them.
“I always had faith he was going to turn it around,” Hoddle said. “You could just see when he ran to the corner flag after the Germany goal, the chains were coming off. The relief of the fans and the country were actually epitomised through him, because he’d been through it. I’ve not seen him celebrate like that before.”
Wembley will also welcome a crowd of 60,000. Yet the palpable emotions still riding through this Denmark side will make them a formidable opponent.
“[Denmark] are on the crest of a wave with Christian,” Hoddle added. “I would be very concerned playing them in Copenhagen if the semi was there. But it’s not, it’s in our own back yard.
“They might feel they’ve got to do it for Christian and rightly so. Their nation will be thinking ‘it could be our year because of this’. But we will never ever have a better chance of winning a tournament in the lives of these players. This is almost a ‘home’ tournament. So bring it on! I think England will get through it and I think they’ll win it.”
This Euros Betfair is now offering No Cash Out Suspensions on Match Odds markets, find out more here: https://betting.betfair.com/football/euro-2020/
More from i on Euro 2020
- Why there have been so many own goals – from tiredness to lazy defending
- We need to talk about Jordan Pickford – the unsung hero of this England team
- What the Premier League could learn from Euro 2020’s controversy-free referees
- The football nomad who became a hero for his role in saving Eriksen’s life
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3jTOczU
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