Eriksen Collapses Again During Denmark’s World Cup Warm-Up Match
Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during Denmark’s 2026 World Cup warm-up friendly match against Ukraine on Sunday, forcing the game to be abandoned.
Denmark were leading 2-1 in the 65th minute when the midfielder clutched his chest before going to the ground, prompting officials to call off the contest.
It was a scene reminiscent of the Euro 2020 incident in which he collapsed during Denmark’s first match of the tournament against Finland.
Eriksen’s heart stopped but was revived after over 10 minutes on the pitch, before making a full recovery in the hospital, where an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a specialized pacemaker, was implanted in his chest.
Against Ukraine, Eriksen was immediately attended to by Morten Boesen, the national team doctor.
The 34-year-old was able to walk off the pitch after a few minutes of treatment.
A statement from the Danish Football Association revealed that the former Manchester United player was briefly unconscious, but the pacemaker helped him regain consciousness quickly.
It added that Eriksen will undergo further examination to understand the cause of the latest collapse.
“Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should,” the statement reads.
“He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him.
“He will undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident. We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital.
“But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was okay.”
Following the first incident, Eriksen spent eight months away from football before reviving his career at Brentford and now at VfL Wolfsburg in Germany.
His comeback earned him a place in Denmark’s World Cup squad. He currently has 151 caps, 46 goals, and 31 assists for his country.
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
