Christian Eriksen collapses on pitch again during Denmark friendly, conscious after treatment
Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed during a friendly against Ukraine in Odense on Sunday, five years after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020. He was conscious and walked off the pitch before being taken to hospital.
The incident
Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during an international friendly against Ukraine at Nature Energy Park in Odense on Sunday evening. The 34-year-old Wolfsburg midfielder clutched his chest with both hands before falling to the ground, briefly losing consciousness. The incident occurred in the second half, with sources reporting the timing as the 65th minute (AP, Der Tagesspiegel) or the 79th minute (The Independent). Denmark were leading 2-1 when the match was abandoned.
Players from both Denmark and Ukraine immediately formed a protective ring around their captain while medical staff attended to him. After approximately ten minutes of treatment on the field, Eriksen regained consciousness and was able to walk to an ambulance under applause from the crowd, with his wife Sabrina at his side.
He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly and we were quickly in contact with him. He will now be examined further in the hospital to find out what caused the incident.
Medical background
The collapse carries echoes of 12 June 2021, when Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark's opening European Championship group game against Finland in Copenhagen. On that occasion he received life-saving CPR on the pitch and was later fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device that can reset the heart after a cardiac arrest. The ICD allowed him to resume his career at both club and international level, with spells at Brentford and Manchester United before joining VfL Wolfsburg in September 2025.
As I see it, the pacemaker is working as it should. He was briefly gone, but very quickly regained consciousness.
Reactions and next steps
The Danish Football Federation (DBU) issued a statement on social media saying Eriksen was "conscious and, under the circumstances, doing well." The stadium announcer relayed a similar message to shocked fans in Odense, who had chanted Eriksen's name as he received treatment. Neither Denmark nor Ukraine qualified for the 2026 World Cup; the friendly was an end-of-season fixture. Eriksen will undergo further examinations in hospital to determine the cause of Sunday's collapse.
- Eriksen suffers cardiac arrest during Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland in Copenhagen; receives CPR on the pitch and is fitted with an ICD.
- Eriksen resumes his playing career with Brentford in the Premier League, later moving to Manchester United.
- Eriksen joins VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
- Eriksen collapses during a friendly against Ukraine in Odense, briefly losing consciousness before walking off the pitch. Taken to hospital for examinations.
