FOOTBALL – Football supporters and well-wishers from all over the world, have sent messages of support to Danish midfielder, Christian Eriksen after he collapsed on the field of play during the match against Finland.
Eriksen was taken to hospital but indicated he wished his team to play on. During the game, the 29-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest. Currently, he is recovering in hospital and is reported to have had an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) inserted under the skin. This connects with the heart and sends electrical pulses to help regulate the heart.
England v Croatia
Then the following day, there was another incident. This time it involved an English supporter just around kick-off with their game against Croatia at Wembley. The fan was seriously injured after falling from the stand. Reportedly, he had been attempting to secure his England flag when he fell. He plunged to the level below and hit the ground. Medical attention was given and he was later transferred to hospital in a serious condition.
Sterling scored the only goal of the match giving England all 3 points with a convincing 1-0 victory.
Austria v North Macedonia
Also on Sunday, there was another incident. It involved Austria’s Marko Arnautovic. As a result, he has received a one-match ban following an alleged racial slur directed at another player. Arnautovic, who is of Serbian descent, denies any racist intentions against the North Macedonian who is of Albanian descent.
Russia v Finland
Following the trauma of their last game when Eriksen was taken to hospital, Finland took on Russia yesterday afternoon (Wednesday). The game was less than half-way through the first half, when Russian defender, Mario Fernandes went for a header, and fell landing badly on his back. Medical staff attended Fernandes on the pitch for quite some time before carrying him off on a stretcher. His head and neck were in a support as he left the pitch. Damage to his vertebra has been ruled out.
Spain v Sweden
Spain were held to a no score draw with Sweden despite being the dominant side throughout. The Spanish squad lost two of the team who were unable to play due to contracting coronavirus.
Scotland v Czech Republic
Scotland failed to score and lost 0-2 in their first match against the Czech Republic. The Scottish side seemed to have the upper hand. However, just before half-time, Patrik Schick scored his first of two goals in this match. The second followed just after half time.
England v Scotland
Tomorrow sees the old rivals come together for their match at Wembley with a 9pm (Spanish time) kick off. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the stadium is limited to a 22,500 capacity. Fans without tickets have been warned not to travel. Particularly considering the recent increase in coronavirus cases of the new variant. According to the ScottishSun.co.uk although only 3,000 tickets have been sold to Scotland supporters, over 20,000 of the “Tartan Army” could be expected to arrive in London. Many train services between the two countries have been fully booked since Thursday.
Spain will play in Seville against Poland on Saturday.
