Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku dedicated his performance in the Euro Cup match to his club teammate Christian Eriksen following his collapse.
The Euro Cup match between Denmark and Finland had to be stopped in the dying minutes of the first half as Danish footballer Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and he had to be taken off due to a medical emergency. Lukaku said he cried a lot when he heard about Eriksen and hoped that the Danish midfielder is healthy.
“The UEFA EURO 2020 match in Copenhagen has been suspended due to a medical emergency,” the UEFA tweeted.
The UEFA EURO 2020 match in Copenhagen has been suspended due to a medical emergency.
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 12, 2021
Eriksen suddenly collapsed just before half-time and the medical team was rushed onto the pitch to attend to the player. Eriksen’s teammates formed a ring around him as he was being attended by doctors. The midfielder was carried off in a stretcher and the match suspended before the half-time whistle.
Lukaku brace helped Belgium defeat Russia 3-0 in the Euro Cup match. After scoring his first goal in the game, Lukaku was heard shouting “Chris, Chris, I love you.”
“I enjoyed the game but for me, it was difficult to play because my mind was with my team-mate Christian Eriksen,” goal.com quoted Lukaku as saying after the match.
“I hope he is healthy and I dedicate this performance to him.”
“I cried a lot because I was scared, obviously. You live strong moments together. I spend more time with him than with my family,” he added.
Eriksen was hospitalised and the match was resumed later in the evening.
Eriksen’s teammates had formed a ring around him as he was being attended by doctors on the field. The midfielder was carried off in a stretcher.
Following the request made by players of both teams, UEFA agreed to restart the match later in the evening with the Demark midfielder in a stable condition in hospital. Finland defeated Denmark 1-0 in their tournament opener.