On Wednesday, Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku announced that his team planned to kick the ball out of play in the 10th minute of the game against Denmark to pay tribute to Christian Eriksen. The Eriksen tenth minute moment on Thursday was as beautiful as you could imagine.
Eriksen is recovering after he terrifyingly collapsed during Denmark’s opening game against Finland. The Inter Milan player had suffered a cardiac arrest and was saved by an amazing response by doctors and match officials.
Lukaku sent Eriksen a message on camera after scoring against Russia saying, “Chris, I love you!”
Eriksen is in good spirits and recovering now. He plans on watching all of Denmark’s remaining games.
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There were tributes to Eriksen all around the stadium. There was also a special moment for the 29-year-old before the game started.
And the giant jersey — of course - is an Eriksen 10. This stadium is the best kind — four steep walls so there’s nowhere for the noise to go. What a night. pic.twitter.com/vPNARuawFt
— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) June 17, 2021
Tributes to @ChrisEriksen8 scattered all around the Parken Stadium ahead of kick off. #EURO2020 #DEN #BEL pic.twitter.com/ta5GgvQVS5
— SPORF (@Sporf) June 17, 2021
I was waiting for a tribute but didn't expect this for #Eriksen
Good Luck #DEN! #BEL#DENBEL#Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/sMwW72tyuS— Miss Brooks (@Fate__ny) June 17, 2021
Football comes together to pay tribute to Christian Eriksen pic.twitter.com/ny1nYT40dG
— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) June 17, 2021
The fans packed inside the stadium were able to release all of the pent up emotions from the past week when Yussuf Poulsen fired Denmark in front less than two minutes into the game.
¡Gooooooooool de Dinamarca!
Poulsen aprovecha el error en la defensa y pone en ventaja a los daneses. ¡Por Eriksen! #DEN 1-0 #BEL#EuroTUDN I #VeranoDeCampeones I #EURO2020¡En vivo!
GRATIS en la app TUDN y @PrendeTV
https://t.co/8p9x63pG01 pic.twitter.com/MTWt7HGOcJ— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) June 17, 2021
A sense of anticipation fell over Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the tenth minute approached. What came next is why this sport’s culture is one of the greatest on Earth.
Eriksen Tenth Minute Tribute
Minuto 10 y ambos equipos se detienen para homenajear por un minuto a Christian Eriksen. #DEN 1-0 #BEL#EuroTUDN I #VeranoDeCampeones I #EURO2020
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) June 17, 2021
Play has stopped and there's a moment of applause for Christian Eriksen, who's recovering in hospital following a medical emergency during Denmark's opening game against Finland.#EURO2020
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 17, 2021
A tribute to Christian Eriksen, absolutely beautiful pic.twitter.com/MuXotBU4To
— CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE (@americanwinger) June 17, 2021
Wonderful. Play pauses in the tenth minute of #DENBEL for a round of applause to Danish number ten Christian Eriksen. #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/PLZzTmPNUy
— Jamie Bellinger (@jmblgr) June 17, 2021
Team-mates and opponents embraced together as the Parken Stadium paid tribute to Christian Eriksen #EURO2020 | #DEN #BEL pic.twitter.com/G75poRcRYH
— Goal (@goal) June 17, 2021
With showings of humanity like this, there are no losers. Sportsmanship won on the day.