Diary

Tuesday, 4 May 2021 - Teams will be allowed to select a 26-player squad instead of 23 at this summer's delayed European Championship Finals. The change has been implemented to lessen the load on players after a club season compressed because of the coronavirus pandemic. It will also help managers adapt if outbreaks occur during the tournament.

Wednesday, 2 June 2021 - Germany 1 Denmark 1 - Florian Neuhaus scored the opening goal after a fortunate ricochet in the box. Yussuf Poulsen ran onto Christian Eriksen's through ball to slam in an equaliser with a rare Danish chance. Denmark have only lost two games since September 2018 after coming from behind in Innsbruck.

Sunday, 6 June 2021 - Denmark 2 Bosnia & Herzegovina 0 - Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite scored as Denmark beat Bosnia in their final warm-up match before Euro 2020. Braithwaite headed in his ninth international goal from close range after sloppy defender from a Christian Eriksen corner. Fellow striker Andreas Cornelius scored with his first touch, heading in from another corner to complete the win. The hosts were playing in front of 8,000 supporters in Brondby.

Saturday, 12 June 2021 - Denmark 0 Finland 1 - Finland won their first ever major finals match as they beat Denmark in a match that was overshadowed by the collapse of Christian Eriksen on the pitch. The 29 year-old collapsed after 41 minutes and received CPR on the pitch as his visibly-distressed team-mates surrounded him. After fifteen minutes of treatment, the striker was stretchered off the field. Supporters from both countries chanted his name while both sets of teams spent the next hour in the dressing room. Only when informed that he was awake in hospital did the players agree to resume the match. UEFA gave the players a choice of resuming tonight or tomorrow at noon. The match resumed at 7.30pm BST, but not before the Finnish players applauded the Danish players as they re-entered the field. Before Eriksen's collapse, Denmark had been the better team, but was understandably far more subdued at the restart. The visitors took the lead when Kasper Schmichael was unable to keep out Joel Pohjanpalo's header following Jere Uronen's cross.

Sunday, 13 June 2021 - Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest when he collapsed last night, said Danish team doctor Morten Boesen. "He was gone. We did cardiac resuscitation, it was a cardiac arrest. How close were we to losing him? I don't know, but one got him back after one defib so that is quite fast. We don't have an explanation to why it happened."
Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand says the match should not have been restarted, "Players have different reactions to shocks and trauma but we will try to get back to normal as much as possible," he added. However, forward Martin Braithwaite said on the decision to resume was "the least bad one. We were all about to lose a friend and a team-mate. It's not something you normally think of on a football pitch."

Tuesday, 15 June 2021 - Christian Eriksen says he is "fine under the circumstances" and posted a picture from his hospital bed with a thumbs-up as he made his first comments since the cardiac arrest. He thanked fans from around the world for their support. The Inter Milan playmaker is now in a stable condition in a Copenhagen hospital.

Thursday, 17 June 2021 - Denmark 1 Belgium 2 - Kevin De Bruyne inspired Belgium to a comeback win over Denmark that secured their place in the last sixteen of Euro 2020. Fans and players paid tribute to Christian Eriksen. Play stopped in the tenth minute, his shirt number, to allow players, supporters and officials to join together for a minutes applause. It came after Yussuf Poulsen gave the hosts a dream start after just 99 seconds, slotting in after a mistake in the Belgium defence. De Bruyne was sent on for the second half and changed the game, receiving a pass from Romelu Lukaku before finding Thorgan Hazard to fire home, and then drove him the winner with twenty minutes left to play with a move started by Lukaku. Martin Braithwaite went close to a late equaliser but his header skimmed the top of the crossbar.

Friday, 18 June 2021 - Christian Eriksen has been discharged from hospital after a 'successful' operation to fit an Implatable Cardioverter Defribrillator, which is 'necessary due to rhythm disturbances'.

Monday, 21 June 2021 - Russia 1 Denmark 4 - The Danes set up a last-16 tie with Wales after an emphatic and emotional victory over Russia in a frantic night in Copenhagen. The Danes embraced each other at full-time. Knowing they needed to win and hoped Belgium did the same over Finland, the hosts did not hold back and Mikkel Damsgaard set the stage alight with a long range opener, become the country's youngest goalscorer at a Major Tournament Finals at the same time. Chelsea's Andreas Christensen also thumped in a stunning strike late on as news of Belgium's lead over Finland filtered through. Yussuf Poulsen put Denmark two up, pouncing on a poor backpass from Roman Zobnin, before Artem Dzyuba got one back from the penalty spot. Denmark confirmed their progression as runners-up when Christensen and Joakim Mæhle made it 4-1 in a rampant three minutes.

Wednesday, 23 June 2021 - The DBU expect to receive an extra allocation of tickets for their Euro 2020 match with Wales because Welsh fans are not allowed to travel to attend it. The Netherlands currently bars non-essential visitors from UK. Danish fans are welcome if they stay in the country for less than twelve hours.

Saturday, 26 June 2021 - Wales 0 Denmark 4 - Wales were eliminated in the second round of Euro 2020 as they were thrashed by Denmark. Backed by a fervent and almost exclusive Danish crowd, Hjulmand's side led after Kasper Dolberg curled in a fine 27th minute strike from the edge of the penalty area. Dolberg struck again in the 48th minute as he seized on a Welsh defensive error. That goal deflated Wales, who never looked like getting back into the game as Joakim Mæhle added a late third. Harry Wilson then shown a straight red for a late tackle on Mæhle before Martin Braithwaite struck a fourth in added time to send the side through to Baku next weekend. It is Denmark's first knockout phase victory since overcoming Germany on this day in 1992.

Saturday, 3 July 2021 - Czech Republic 1 Denmark 2 - Denmark's impressive and emotional campaign continued as they marched on to the semi-finals courtesy of a victory over the Czech Republic in Baku. They led from the fifth minute when Thomas Delaney evaded his marker to head in from a corner. A continual threat on the break, they made it 2-0 just before half-time, with Kasper Dolberg volleying in a superb cross from Joakim Mæhle. Their momentum was checked early in the second half as Patrik Schick coolly volleyed in his fifth goal of the tournament. But Denmark were able to recompose themselves and dig in to ensure the victory and a semi-final place at Wembley on Wednesday. Their 29 year gap between last-four appearances ends the longest run in the history of the European Championship Finals.

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CG