Kasper Schmeichel gets emotional while reliving harrowing moment Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020… as the Dane hails efforts to save Man United star’s life the ‘single most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed’
Kasper Schmeichel has given a first-hand account of the harrowing scenes at the European Championships three-years ago that saw Christian Eriksen suffer a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s opening fixture against Finland at the tournament in June 2021, when his heart stopped and medics rushed to give CPR.
The Manchester United midfielder received 13 minutes of treatment on the pitch at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, with a defibrillator being used to restart Eriksen’s heart.
Denmark team-mates including Schmeichel watched on in horror and form a human chain around Eriksen to protect him from public view while medical personnel attempted to save his life.
Eriksen was later carried off the pitch on a stretcher and subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device – which has not only allowed him to continue living but also to carry on playing football.
Kasper Schmeichel has given a first-hand account of the harrowing scenes at the European Championships three-years ago that saw Christian Eriksen suffer a cardiac arrest on the pitch
Schmiechel has revealed the upsetting circumstances of the event and labelled the Denmark team doctor as a ‘legend’
Eriksen was later carried off the pitch on a stretcher and subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) device
Now, Schmiechel has revealed the upsetting circumstances of the event and labelled the Denmark team doctor as a ‘legend’ for his life-saving intervention.
Speaking to the Fozcast, he said: ‘I remember thinking of his wife and his children and I knew they were in the crowd with me and my wife and kids and remember thinking “if that was me” and I remember what the paramedics were saying.
‘I remember our doctor. You talk about legends, like wow. You can win any league, to do what he did that day is the single most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed.
‘To be under that pressure, because that stadium is really high and they could look straight down, the pressure he was under and the clarity of thought and how fast he acted, how precise he was to save Christian’s life.
Eriksen later made a full recovery and joined Manchester United after Brentford
Schmeichel consoled Eriksen’s partner Sabrina Kvist Jensen who was in tears at the time of the incident
‘Even now you get emotional thinking about just how could they do that, how could they bring him back,’ he added.
Eriksen later watched replays of his collapse against Finland just 24 hours later while recovering in hospital before eventually being discharged once professionals were happy.
Regulations on players playing in Italy with an ICD device forced Eriksen to leave Inter Milan after the incident and Brentford gave him the chance to get his career back underway in the Premier League.
Man United then swooped for Eriksen’s signature, with the midfielder making 65 appearances in all competitions under Erik ten Hag.
