Denmark, Belgium pause match to pay tribute to Christian Eriksen

In the middle of their Euro 2020 match on Thursday, Denmark and Belgium players stopped play show their support for Denmark’s Christian Eriksen after he suffered cardiac arrest on the field last Saturday.

Play was paused 10 minutes into the game in honor of Eriksen, who wears No. 10.

The 25,000 fans in the stadium quickly showed an outpouring of love for Eriksen and gave him a standing ovation. Just behind the Denmark goal, fans held up a sign in support of the midfielder that read, “All of Denmark is with you Christian.”

Eriksen collapsed in the middle of Denmark’s opening game against Finland. Medics spent over 10 minutes performing CPR and using a defibrillator on the 29-year-old. Since the incident, he has been hospitalized and will have surgery to receive a heart-starter device.

“After Christian has been through different heart examinations, it has been decided that he should have an ICD,” team doctor Morten Boesen told ESPN. “This device is necessary after a cardiac attack due to rhythm disturbances.”

Prior to the matchup, there was a tribute to Eriksen as UEFA rolled out a gigantic No. 10 jersey onto the field.

Traditionally, jerseys for both teams are displayed with only their nationality on them, but because of the unusual circumstances, “Christian God bedring” was emblazoned in large letters, wishing Eriksen a good recovery. This marked the first time that a player had his name on the back of one of the UEFA jerseys.

Denmark was able to jump to a 1-0 lead within the first two minutes but ultimately lost to Belgium, 2-1.