Belgium national team has promised to honor Denmark national team player, Christian Eriksen later today when the two countries meet in the ongoing Euro 2020 campaign.
Belgium and Denmark will play their second game of the tournament at Parken, a stadium located in Copenhagen, Denmark at 17:00. During the Group B match, the Belgian players have agreed to play the ball out of play in the 10th minute in celebration of the life of Christian Eriksen.
Recall that on June 12, 2021, when Denmark played their first game in Euro 2020 against Finland, Eriksen who wears jersey number 10 in the Danish team collapsed on the pitch towards the last minute of the first half.
The match was halted for hours because of the incident. After a long wait, the match was completed and Finland defeated Denmark with a lone goal.
As for Eriksen, the doctors confirmed that he collapsed because he suffered a Cardiac Arrest and it was later confirmed that he was stable. However, that has not stopped teams, footballers, and other stakeholders to continue to celebrate him.
In continuation of that, the Belgium national team has agreed to kick the ball out of play to give room for the spectators to applaud Eriksen during the European Championship game.
Eriksen’s teammate at Inter Milan who is the talisman of Belgium, Romelu Lukaku, noted that most of the Belgian players have played with the Danish star but that won’t stop Belgium to win the game.
“We’ll put the ball into touch to applaud,” said Lukaku. “Several of our players have played with him. But tomorrow (Thursday, June 17) we’ll be there to win the game, which promises to be difficult.”
Unlike Belgium that won their first game 3-0 against Russia, Denmark needs to win Belgium today to stand a chance of qualifying for the round of 16. If Denmark fails to pick up themselves when they face the Belgian team later tonight, that might be the end of the journey for the team.
Ahead of the second Group B game, the coach of Denmark, Kasper Hjulmand, hopes that the home support his team might get against Belgium would help his team to get the maximum three points.
“It will be very emotional to return,” the coach said. “We expect to have incredible support from our fans and the whole country.
“We have to be ready for that and positively use this energy.”
Meanwhile, the coach of Belgium, Roberto Martinez has confirmed that the team’s attacking midfielder, Kelvin De Bruyne is medically fit to play against Denmark.
Recall that the midfielder got injured while playing for Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea in May. He had to undergo a minor surgery ahead of Euro 2020.
Unfortunately for the Manchester City talisman, he was not fit enough to play Belgium’s open Euro 2020 opener against Russia.
“He is medically fit, he has the green light to be in a match situation,” his national team head coach said.
Don't be jealous, Dries. 😘 #DEVILTIME #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/OiJBeSeM4r
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) June 16, 2021
