Christian Eriksen Conscious After Collapse During Denmark Friendly Against Ukraine

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen is conscious and recovering after collapsing during his country’s international friendly against Ukraine in Odense, prompting the match to be abandoned shortly after the incident.

The game was halted in the 65th minute when the 34-year-old suddenly fell to the ground. Medical personnel rushed onto the field and attended to Eriksen before he was able to leave the pitch on foot and later be taken for further medical examination.

Denmark national team doctor Morten Boesen confirmed that Eriksen briefly lost consciousness but recovered quickly.

“Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself,” Boesen said. “As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should. He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him.”

Boesen added that Eriksen would undergo additional tests at hospital to determine the cause of the incident.

The midfielder has been fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) since suffering a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland in 2021. The device allowed him to return to professional football with Brentford in 2022 before later joining Manchester United. Last summer, Eriksen moved to Wolfsburg, where he made 34 appearances during the 2025-26 Bundesliga season.

Sunday’s match marked Eriksen’s 151st appearance for Denmark.

Boesen said the player remained in contact with team officials and had asked for a message to be passed on to his teammates.

“Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was OK,” he said.

Denmark captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg described the moment as a shock but praised the swift response from those on the field.

“Everyone reacted super-fast and with respect,” Hojbjerg told TV2. “I can only compliment how much courage those who took care of Christian on the field had.”

Scenes during the incident echoed those from Eriksen’s collapse at Euro 2020, as players from both Denmark and Ukraine formed a protective circle around him while medics worked. After the match was abandoned, players and staff from both teams stood arm in arm while being addressed by Denmark coach Brian Riemer.

“The most important thing is that Christian is doing well and he is,” Riemer said. “Now it’s about us standing together.”

Neither Denmark nor Ukraine qualified for the World Cup, which begins on Thursday.