Christian Eriksen has been named to Denmark’s World Cup squad, just over a year after suffering a heart attack during a Euro 2020 match against Finland..
FIFA rules required national teams to submit a provisional squad of up to 55 names by October 21, before the deadline for a final 26-man squad on November 13, a week before the tournament begins.
Denmark has named 21 of the 26-man squad, with the Scandinavian country set to announce the final five names after the final round of European fixtures this weekend..
Eriksen collapsed during the postponed Euro 2020 finals last summer.
The Manchester United midfielder collapsed shortly before halftime in Denmark’s tournament opener against Finland.
He received life-saving treatment on the field and was later fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device (a type of pacemaker)..
Eriksen, who was playing for Inter Milan at the time of his collapse, agreed to terminate his contract with the Serie A giants due to regulations that prohibit players with an ICD from playing in Serie A..
As a result, he signed a six-month contract with Brentford in January. The Dane was a revelation in west London, helping the Bees to safety with four assists and one goal in ten starts.
Eriksen stated in January that winning a cap for Denmark again in front of their home fans and playing in this winter’s World Cup was a “goal, a dream.”
In a romantic return for the Danish icon, he returned to the national team in March and scored two minutes after coming on as a substitute against the Netherlands.
Eriksen moved to Old Trafford in the summer after his contract with Thomas Frank’s Bees expired, and he has become an important cog in the club’s success..
In 117 appearances for Denmark, the playmaker has scored 39 goals and added 26 assists, making him one of the best Danish players of all time.
Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was chosen alongside Brentford’s Mathias Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard in Denmark manager Kasper Hjumland’s initial 21-man squad. Last summer, he famously scored a world-class free-kick against England in the Euro 2020 semi-finals..
Joachim Andersen of Crystal Palace and Rasmus Kristensen of Leeds were also selected.
Former Leicester City captain Kasper Schmeichel, who now plays for Nice, was included, as was ex-Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen, who moved to Barcelona in the summer.
Hjumland said of the initial 21-man squad, ‘Many things can happen.’
‘It’s unsolvable, but it’s the right way to go – many of our players have two games left, and that can easily change things.’
‘There are still 10 or 12 players vying for the last five spots.’
Denmark is in Group D, along with France, Australia, and Tunisia, and will begin their World Cup campaign against the north African nation on November 22..
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