VALENCIA. The soccer teams of Slovenia and Denmark tied (1-1) this Sunday in a match played at the MHPArena in Stuttgart, corresponding to Group C of the men’s Euro Cup and where a goal by Erik Janza in the final stretch neutralized the scored for the Danes by Christian Eriksen, just 1,100 days after his cardiac arrest.
The Nordic team started better positioned than its rival on the field, with Eriksen himself acting as chief engineer. But it was the Slovenians who first created danger, through Benjamin Sesko quarter of an hour into the game. He received a deep pass on the edge of the area, created space and connected with a right hand that grazed the post.
Denmark’s response could not have been better, as they immediately scored 0-1. In a throw-in that was apparently easy to cover, the Slovenia defense got confused and allowed the ball to reach Jonas Wind inside the area; This continued with a subtle back heel for the sprinting arrival of Eriksen, who controlled with his chest and shot quickly.
His shot, with the toe of his right foot, beat Jan Oblak at close range and made the large Danish fans in the stands explode with joy. 1,100 days have passed since Eriksen’s heart problem, whose image from that June 12, 2021, lying motionless on the grass and surrounded by his teammates is already Euro Cup history.
His pleasant version this Sunday could have been even better if he had been successful in one of the two chances he had before the break, the clearest in the 43rd minute, but with the ball going over the crossbar.
At the beginning of the second half, Cae Andraz Sporar received a blow from Joachim Andersen inside the rival area, in his attempt to clear, but the Swiss Sandro Schärer and the rest of the VAR referees ruled out in their interpretation that this action was punishable. The duel then entered a phase of alternations, with Rasmus Hojlund standing out for Denmark.
His shot in the 65th minute was well caught by Oblak and two minutes later Adam Gnezda Cerin had a great opportunity to score which he missed as his header went very close to the post. Then Andraz Sporar also evaded the tie and, in the 76th minute, Sesko did crash a strong shot with his right foot into the post, at mid-height.
All of this was the prelude to the 1-1, achieved by Janza with a bit of luck after a corner. The Danish defense had cleared the corner kick and the ball reached the edge of the area, where the Slovenian left back took a shot with his good leg; The ball hit Morten Hjulmand’s ass and changed direction.
Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel could do nothing to prevent that goal, although he was ready for the clearance in the next play, which despite everything thwarted one of his center backs after a shot by Sporar almost in the small area. The carousel of substitutions at the end caused the pace to slow down and both teams settled for a draw.
