Life has moved on for Christian Eriksen since the day he died for five minutes on a football pitch. It is, he said reasonably this week, not something he cares to “overthink”.
There are inescapable milestones in every footballer’s story, though, and especially in a story as unique as his. This was unquestionably one of those occasions for Eriksen and his family, as the Denmark midfielder marked his return to the European Championship stage with a gorgeous goal against Slovenia.
A life-affirming afternoon? That would be going too far. Eriksen has never discussed his return in such dramatic terms, and after this result he was more focused on the two dropped points than on his own personal achievement.
“Obviously it would have been a different story if we had won,” he said. “It is a wake-up call for us ahead of the next game [against England].”
Still, it certainly felt like a profound moment in Stuttgart – for Eriksen and also for those of his team-mates who experienced their own horror at the last European Championship – when the Manchester United playmaker steered Denmark into the lead after 17 minutes. “My story is very different compared to last time, which is a big thing for me personally,” he said.
Eriksen’s last appearance in Europe’s premier international competition was three years ago, against Finland in Copenhagen. It ended with him leaving the field on a stretcher, his life changed forever following his cardiac arrest. To score here, on his first Euros game since, felt almost Hollywood.
Except, if this were Hollywood, it would have been the winning goal. Instead, footballing reality hit Denmark in the gut. Slovenia proved to be strange but complicated opponents, and by the end they might have felt like they should have won it. Erik Janza struck their equaliser, and they could well have scored more.
The draw suits England, of course, although this was a game that also served as a warning to Gareth Southgate’s team. Both sides showed they will cause problems for the English defence. Denmark with their more sophisticated passing game, led by the scheming Eriksen, and Slovenia with their two powerful strikers in attack.
One of those forwards, Benjamin Sesko, demonstrated why Arsenal were hoping to spend more than £50 million on his services this summer, before he committed his future to German side RB Leipzig. In both halves he went close to scoring early contenders for goal of the tournament.
There is a lesson there: if England allow Sesko to receive the ball within range of their goal, they will find themselves in serious trouble. The 21-year-old does not so much shoot the ball as bludgeon it. His first effort whizzed a few inches wide, while his second thudded the woodwork with such force that Uefa’s officials will be checking the post for dents.
At the final whistle it was Slovenia’s supporters who stayed and celebrated. Matjaz Kek’s side are playing in their first major tournament since the 2010 World Cup, and their first European Championship since 2000. They will be proud of how they turned this game around after a difficult start. “We maybe showed a bit too much respect in the first half,” said Kek. “But we have a very good generation.”
For the first 45 minutes it had been an Eriksen masterclass. His goal was a superb controlled effort, from Jonas Wind’s flick, and his slick movement caused no end of issues for Slovenia’s rigid 4-4-2 formation. In the first half alone, Denmark had eight shots. Eriksen was involved in seven of those.
By the final whistle he had been involved in 12 shots (five of his own and seven chances created), the most by any midfielder at a European Championship game since 2012.
Eriksen’s individual performance will prompt a few questions of United, of course. For his club, the 32-year-old often plays in a deeper role. Here, he was a floating No 10 who moved where the match allowed. Could he not do something similar for United, as he did for Tottenham Hotspur for so many years? Could they not use him like this?
“I have never had my doubts with Christian,” said Kasper Hjulmand, the Denmark manager. “You cannot hold down that kind of class. I know the critics have said that he has not played that much at United but for me he is a great player and he showed it today.”
For now, the more pressing concern for Eriksen and Denmark is how they lost control of this game. After 65 minutes they could have been two or three goals clear, and they should have scored when Rasmus Hojlund broke free on a counter-attack. Jan Oblak’s excellent save kept Slovenia in the match and, before long, they were level.
In the space of a wild few minutes, Adam Gnezda Cerin and Andraz Sporar went close, Sesko smashed the post and then Janza’s long-range effort deflected into the net off Morten Hjulmand’s hip. A deserved point for Slovenia, who stole much of Eriksen’s thunder and proved they will not be the whipping boys that many were expecting.