Denmark
Denmark beats Czechs 2-1 to reach Euro 2020 semifinals
Denmark’s journey at the European Championship is headed to London.
The Danes, who have developed into a surprise contender after their tournament began with midfielder Christian Eriksen suffering cardiac arrest on the field, advanced to the Euro 2020 semifinals on Saturday by beating the Czech Republic 2-1.
They didn’t need long to take control against the Czechs on a hot and humid night in Azerbaijan.
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Jens Stryger sent an outswinging corner in the fifth minute to Thomas Delaney, standing in space by the penalty spot. Delaney’s bouncing header went in past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík.
Denmark doubled the lead just before halftime. Joakim Maehle hit a cross from the left using the outside of his right foot. The ball eluded Martin Braithwaite’s attempt at a header but Kasper Dolberg got past his marker and beat Vaclík in the 42nd.
Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick scored his fifth goal at the beginning of the second half, putting him even with Cristiano Ronaldo as the tournament’s leading scorers. Schick was given plenty of space by defender Jannik Vestergaard to hit a first-touch shot off Vladimir Coufal’s curled pass.
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The Czechs pushed hard to level the score in a physical game which finished with Tomas Soucek and Jan Boril both with their heads wrapped in bandages after collisions with Danish players.
Denmark lost its first two games at Euro 2020 and was on the verge of elimination before beating Russia, Wales and the Czechs in succession. This is farthest Denmark has gotten at a major tournament since winning the European title in 1992.
Denmark on the road for 1st time to face Wales at Euro 2020
After three emotional European Championship matches in Copenhagen, Denmark will next play in a city that Christian Eriksen once called home.
The Danes will take on Wales in the round of 16 at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Saturday, a stadium where Eriksen is fondly remembered by Ajax fans as a stylish midfield playmaker from 2010-13 before his transfer to Tottenham.
Denmark lost its first Euro 2020 match to Finland 1-0 after Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest on the field and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator. The Danes also lost to Belgium before beating Russia 4-1 to finish second in Group B and advance to knockout rounds.
“I’m thinking a lot about Christian and how much I have hoped that he could experience this,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said. “He has been looking forward to this summer so much, it’s a big, big dream for Christian, and just to know that he’s not here hurts.”
Wales coach Rob Page paid tribute to the way the Denmark team had coped with the situation, but said his team has to focus solely on the match.
“Obviously the world has taken note of what’s happened and the emotion involved in it, but we can’t get involved in that now,” he said. “It’s work as usual for us and now we’ve got a job to do and we want to go and finish it.”
While Denmark is hitting the road for the first time at a tournament that is being played in 11 cities across Europe, Wales have had a tougher travel schedule. The team based itself in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it played its first two matches before facing Italy in Rome and traveling to the Netherlands for the round of 16.
“On paper it sounds like a great idea to have it all around Europe but logistically it is an absolute nightmare, and throw COVID into that mix as well,” Page said.
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Wales’ victory over Turkey and a draw with Switzerland were enough for second place behind Italy in Group A. The Welsh lost 1-0 in their final match against the Italian, one of the tournament’s top teams.
Now Wales is hoping it can build up the same kind of momentum that carried it to the semifinals of Euro 2016, where it lost to eventual champion Portugal 2-0.
Gareth Bale, one of the stars of the 2016 campaign, is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 33 goals, but he has not scored in his last 14 internationals and missed a penalty against Turkey in Baku.
Aaron Ramsey, another of the veterans from the tournament in France, is hoping to improve on the team’s performance five years ago.
“We’re a threat. We keep games tight, so who knows,” Eamsey said. “Why not go all the way again?”
Wales will be without midfielder Ethan Ampadu, who is suspended after being sent off early in the second half of the team’s final group match against Italy for a foul on Federico Bernardeschi.
Hjulmand said it would be tough to prepare against an unpredictable Welsh team.
“They’re very flexible. They change their strategy and their positions so it’s going to be hard to know what to expect from that team,” he said.
Page said it’s uncertain how Denmark will set up for Saturday’s match. What he does know is that Wales has to match the Danes physically.
“Irrespective of what 11 he puts on the pitch, they’re going to work, battle, fight for each other and we have to match that,” Page said.
Also read: Finland beats Denmark at Euro 2020 after Eriksen's collapse
Players on both sides should have a good idea what to expect from one another — Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward both play for Premier League club Leicester.
“We have great competition and we have a really great relation to each other,” Schmeichel said of Ward. “I don’t see any any weakness in him. He’s a complete goalkeeper.”
Also, Ben Davies and Joe Rodon are Tottenham teammates with Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Bale also played on loan for the London club last season.
Hojbjerg called Bale “one of the best players I’ve ever played with.”
“I know how much Wales mean to him, I know how much tomorrow’s game means to him,” Hojbjerg said. “I wish him the best, just not tomorrow.”
The winner of Saturday’s match will head to Baku — where Wales is undefeated in two matches at this tournament — to face either the Netherlands or the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on July 3.
Eriksen released from hospital after ‘successful’ operation
Christian Eriksen was discharged from the hospital on Friday and immediately went to visit his Denmark teammates nearly a week after suffering cardiac arrest during a European Championship match.
The Danish soccer federation wrote on Twitter that Eriksen was released from the Rigshospitalet in central Copenhagen after a successful operation. The federation previously said Eriksen would be fitted with an ICD, an implantable device that can function as both a pacemaker and defibrillator.
“The operation went well, and I am doing well under the circumstances,” Eriksen was quoted as saying in the tweet.
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The 29-year-old Eriksen has been in the hospital since collapsing on the field during his team’s opening Euro 2020 match against Finland on Saturday. His heart stopped and he had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator.
A tribute was held for him during Denmark’s second game against Belgium on Thursday, when play stopped after 10 minutes for a minute’s applause in the stadium.
The Danish federation said Eriksen went to see the team Friday at its training base in Helsingor, outside Copenhagen, and would then go home to spend time with his family.
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”It was really great to see the guys again after the fantastic game they played last night,” Eriksen said in the tweet. “No need to say that I will be cheering on them on Monday against Russia.”
Denmark lost its first two games but still has a chance to advance to the round of 16 with a win over Russia in its final Group B game.
Finland beats Denmark at Euro 2020 after Eriksen's collapse
Joel Pohjanpalo scored and Lukas Hradecky saved a penalty to give Finland a 1-0 victory over Denmark on Saturday in a European Championship game overshadowed by Christian Eriksen’s collapse on the field.
The game was suspended for about 90 minutes after Eriksen needed urgent medical treatment near the end of the first half before being taken to a hospital. The Danish soccer federation said Eriksen was awake and in stable condition.
When play resumed, Pohjanpalo put Finland ahead against the run of play in the 60th minute when he rose above Joakim Maehle to head home a cross from Jere Uronen. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel got his hands on the ball but couldn’t keep it out.
It was Finland's only effort on goal in the entire game as Denmark dominated throughout and finished with 23 total shots, although only six were on target.
The Danes' best chance came when they were handed a penalty after Yussuf Poulsen went down under a challenge from Paulus Arajuuri. But Hradecky dived to his left to stop a tame effort from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the 74th.
Also read: Eriksen in stable condition, Euro 2020 match resumes
Finland was making its debut at a major tournament but what should have been the biggest win in the country's soccer history was completely overshadowed by Eriksen's medical emergency.
Eriksen was given urgent medical attention on the field for about 10 minutes before he was carried off on a stretcher. The teams held an emergency meeting and decided to continue the match after it became clear that Eriksen was in stable condition.
Denmark had dominated the first half until the incident, and forced three decent saves from Hradecky in the opening 20 minutes. Jones Wind first tried a hard shot from the edge of the area, before Hradecky tipped a header from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg over the bar and then palmed away a dipping long-distance shot from Eriksen in the 19th.
The Danes then failed to test Hradecky again until the penalty save.
At the final whistle, Finland's players celebrated loudly in front of their fans, while Denmark's hugged on the field.
Top-ranked Belgium and Russia are also in Group B at Euro 2020.
Eriksen in stable condition, Euro 2020 match resumes
Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen was taken to a hospital Saturday after collapsing on the field during a match at the European Championship, leading to the game being suspended for more than 90 minutes.
The governing body of European soccer said Eriksen has been stabilized and the Danish soccer federation said he was awake.
“Christian Eriksen is awake and is undergoing further examinations at Rigshospitalet,” the Danish federation wrote on Twitter.
The Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland had been halted in the 43rd minute with the score 0-0. It resumed at 8:30 p.m. local time.
UEFA said both teams had held an emergency meeting before deciding to continue playing. The players came back out onto the field to a huge ovation as they started warming up for a second time.
Mathias Jensen replaced Eriksen in the Denmark lineup. Only a few minutes were played before a shorter-than-normal halftime break.
Eriksen was given urgent medical attention on the field for about 10 minute after collapsing near the end of the first half. He was then carried off on a stretcher. UEFA then announced the game had been suspended “due to a medical emergency.”
Eriksen had just played a short pass when he fell face-forward onto the ground. His teammates immediately gestured for help and medics rushed onto the field. Eriksen was given chest compressions as his Denmark teammates stood around him in a shielding wall for privacy.
Eriksen’s partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, went onto the field and was comforted by Denmark captain Simon Kjaer and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
The Finland players huddled by their bench and eventually walked off the field while the Inter Milan midfielder was still getting treatment, as did the referees.
Eriksen was eventually carried off to a loud ovation, with his teammates walking next to the stretcher.
Inter Milan team physician Piero Volpi told The Associated Press that the Italian club was in contact with the Danish soccer federation.
“We’re in contact with the Danish federation, the team manager, the team physician. But we still don’t know anything yet,” Volpi said. “We heard what UEFA said and we’re all happy that he’s been stabilized. But that’s all we know.”
Volpi added that Eriksen never contracted COVID-19, has no medical conditions that he’s aware of and has passed every medical exam without problem since joining Inter in January 2020 from Tottenham.
“But we’ll talk about that when the time is right,” Volpi added of Eriksen’s medical history. “Right now, the important thing is that he recovers.”
Eriksen is one of Denmark’s biggest stars and the incident brought an instant sense of shock to the Parken Stadium, where about 15,000 fans fell into hushed silence. Some supporters could be seen crying and hugging in the stands.
As the fans in the stadium were waiting for updates, Finland supporters started chanting “Christian,” which was then answered by the Danish fans shouting “Eriksen.”
A huge roar then went up from all supporters when the stadium announcer said Eriksen was “stable and awake.”
The incident brought back memories of other soccer players who have collapsed on the field, including Fabrice Muamba, who needed CPR in 2012 when he collapsed in a match between Bolton and Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Muamba, who fully recovered, tweeted ”Please God” as Eriksen was taken to the hospital.
Denmark stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Denmark on Wednesday decided to entirely cease administering the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, said the country's health authority during a joint press conference with the Danish Medicines.
"Based on the scientific findings, our overall assessment is there is a real risk of severe side effects associated with using the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca. We have, therefore, decided to remove the vaccine from our vaccination program," said Soren Brostrom, director general of the Danish Health Authority.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the authority also claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic was "currently under control" in Denmark, adding that this had contributed to the decision.
Denmark first suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11, citing "very rare but severe side effects" discovered during the jab's safety monitoring.
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Denmark's decision on Wednesday to ditch the AstraZeneca shot came on the heels of the European Medical Agency's (EMA) recent verdict that "the benefits of using the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca continue to outweigh the risks for people who receive it."
The Danish Health Authority agrees with the EMA's general findings, Brostrom said, adding that
"In the midst of an epidemic, it has been a difficult decision to continue our vaccination program without an effective and readily available vaccine against COVID-19."
However, the authority referred to further comments by the EMA that the "use of the vaccine during vaccination campaigns at the national level should also consider the pandemic situation and vaccine availability in each individual country."
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"We are basically in agreement with the EMA's assessment regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine. That is why it is important to emphasize that it is still an approved vaccine," said Brostrom.
"But if Denmark were in a completely different situation and in the midst of a violent third outbreak ... and if we had not reached such an advanced point in our rollout of the vaccines ... then I would not hesitate to use the vaccine, even if there were rare but severe complications associated with using it."
According to the Statens Serum Institut's (SSI) updated overview, 149,884 people in Denmark have received at least one shot and 596 both shots of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.
"Those who have received the first injection with AstraZeneca will later receive an invitation to vaccination with another vaccine," the health authority said.
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Meanwhile, Denmark continues to administer the vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
In total, 995,672 Danes have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, which corresponds to 17 percent of the population, the SSI said on Wednesday.
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