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Fifa World Cup: Denmark’s Christian Eriksen returns after miraculous recovery

Midfielder will be playing his third World Cup when the Danes open their Qatar campaign against Tunisia on Tuesday

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Denmark's midfielder Christian Eriksen (R). Photo: AFP

By Rituraj Borkakoty from Doha

Published: Mon 21 Nov 2022, 10:06 PM

It’s been a year since Denmark’s incredible Euro 2020 campaign saw them reach the semifinal against all odds after Christian Eriksen, their talismanic midfielder, suffered a cardiac arrest during the opening match of that tournament.

Denmark lost that match to Finland before going down to Belgium in the second game.

But they went on to conjure-up a magical run, beating Russia 4-1 in the final group game to reach the round of 16.

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They were ruthless against Wales (4-0) in the first knockout game and overcame the Czech Republic 2-1 in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal clash with England.

They may have lost that semifinal to an extra-time goal from Harry Kane, but they returned home to heroes’ welcome with a rousing display despite losing their best player in the first game.

Since then Eriksen has made a remarkable recovery, returning to club football eight months after that on-field incident.

Now a regular at Manchester United, Eriksen is back with Denmark for what will be his third World Cup when the Danes open their Qatar campaign against Tunisia on Tuesday.

After his miraculous recovery, Eriksen, who has an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator fitted in his heart, will pull the strings from the midfield for Denmark.

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“It’ll be very special,” Eriksen told the Man United official website on his return to the World Cup.

“Obviously, I was outside of football and the country did qualify without me which was very nice and now to be part of it and help the country at the World Cup is very special.”

The Danes will be inspired by the return of their big player for the big tournament and coach Kasper Hjulmand believes the team could go all the way in Qatar.

"Our dream is to win something. Are we favourites? No... but we can beat everyone on the day," Hjulmand said.

"We have a very good group of players working together and the best way of winning everything is to dream big."

Rituraj Borkakoty from Doha

Published: Mon 21 Nov 2022, 10:06 PM

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