UEFA darkhorse Denmark stumbled out of the gate at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as Kasper Hjulmand’s De Rød-Hvide labored to a 0-0 draw against Tunisia at Education City Stadium in a disappointing beginning to group play for the Scandinavian outfit.
Billed as one of the possible surprise sides in Qatar after their Euro 2020 heroics last summer that saw the Danes reach the semi-finals of an international tournament for the first time since Euro 1992 when they won the tournament outright, Denmark has quickly become one of the leading UEFA sides and entered World Cup play as runner-up in their Nations League group ahead of France and just one point behind Croatia.
But despite the frustrating result, with a clash with a Les Bleus outfit they defeated twice during Nations League play still to come, the talk surrounding Denmark is the return of star creator-in-chief Christian Eriksen on the international stage.
It was during the Euro when Eriksen’s life was temporarily turned upside down when he suffered a cardiac event against Finland in the opening group stage match for both sides that nearly took his life before life-saving efforts from teammates and heroic medical staff helped save his life, but many were uncertain if he could ever return to the top level of competitive football.
His display tonight, on the back of key performances for Brentford last season and Manchester United in the current 2022-23 Premier League campaign has put those questions to bed after Eriksen began his winter campaign creating more chances than any other player thus far, including any England player that featured in their 6-2 thrashing of Iran.
With Eriksen primed to remain the key attacking catalyst for Denmark, an entire nation will hope that his story can be a key inspiration for the national team to go on to dazzle in a consecutive tournament appearance while highlighting the talent that Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia continue to produce.
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