Euro 2020: Finland beat Denmark, Eriksen awake after collapse halts game

1. Finland beat Denmark in game overshadowed by Eriksen collapse
2. Eriksen awake in hospital after collapsing on pitch
3. Eriksen was given CPR by medics
4. Game was suspended shortly before half time
5. Finland winner from Pohjanpalo early in second half
6. Hojbjerg misses penalty - low effort saved

Jonathan Pearce on BBC comms seems very excited that the match officials are English.

Cesc Fabregas

Former Spain midfielder on BBC One

Denmark have the players and the experience to compete at the highest level.

But it's football. Anything can happen.

Reuters

Don't forget this is a BBC TV game, get BBC One on now if you haven't.

'Schmeichel is excellent'

Micah Richards

Former Man City defender on BBC One

Kasper Schmeichel is absolutely excellent.

What I like about him is he's never fazed by anything. When you have a father like Peter it can be difficult but he is making a name for himself.

Plenty of noise for the Danish one now, with this a home game.

Finland's national anthem blares out - for the first time ever at a major men's football tournament.

An emotional moment for the players, staff and 3,000-odd Finns in the ground.

'Pukki is Finland's go-to man'

Alex Scott

Former England and Arsenal defender on BBC One

Teemu Pukki is Finland's go-to man. Their real leader.

He gets different types of goals. He has the ability to drop deep, there's so much to his game. The ability to hold his run, stay onside and wait. The composure [in front of goal]. There's no rush of blood to the head. He is their go-to man.

Finland have won just one of the past 22 games with Denmark (D6, L15) - a 2-1 friendly triumph in February 2000.

EPA

How these sides qualified

Finland qualified for Euro 2020 by finishing second in Group J with six wins from 10 games - four points above Greece.

Italy won all 10 games to win the group.

Denmark needed a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland in their final group game to qualify - with an unbeaten record.

Since then Kasper Hjulmand has replaced Age Hareide as manager. The change was meant to happen after Euro 2020.

Denmark are in red-hot form with nine wins in 11.

Belgium are the only team to beat them since September 2018 (two times).

You'd have to go back to 2016 for the last time a team other than Belgium beat the Danes in a competitive game (excluding penalty shootouts).

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This game is in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, which is one of 11 host cities at Euro 2020.

While these are both Nordic countries, Denmark is almost 1,000km away from Finland with a ferry or flight needed to go between them.

There's no particular football rivalry here.

EPA

More pundits' predictions...

Karen Carney 1-0, Chris Waddle 2-0, Dion Dublin 1-0, Clinton Morrison 2-1, Chris Sutton 1-0, Rob Green 1-0, Christian Fuchs 1-1, Jermaine Jenas 1-0, Emma Saunders 2-0, Steve Crossman 1-0, John Murray 2-1, Ian Dennis 1-0, Alistair Bruce-Ball 2-1, Conor McNamara 1-1, Vicki Sparks 2-0

Lawro's prediction

Mark Lawrenson

BBC football expert

Denmark have got some outstanding players so this would have been a hard enough debut for Finland in their first major finals anyhow, but on top of that, they are playing away in Copenhagen.

Prediction: 1-0

'Promise of goals'

Pat Nevin

Former Chelsea and Scotland winger on BBC Radio 5 Live

EPA

Finland are the minnows of the whole tournament - just happy to be here.

But, because they are playing their near neighbours Denmark, it should be an exciting game, and I suspect, a very open one.

There's a promise of goals. Definite promise of goals.

EPA

Watch live on the BBC

BBC One

What a treat - this is a BBC TV game.

Build-up starts at 16:45 BST on BBC One, available on a TV or at the top of this page (if you're in the UK).

There is also BBC Radio 5 Live commentary, also available on this page.

Read the Finland story here

Read Gary Rose's feature on Finland's journey from depths of despair to historic qualification here.

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Finland boss Markku Kanerva

Pukki boost for Finns

That Teemu Pukki news is a major boost to Finland - he had been a doubt for the tournament with an ankle injury at one stage.

He scored 10 of Finland's 16 goals in qualifying. Nobody else managed more than two.

Denmark's key man was Christian Eriksen with five goals and three assists in eight games.

He has been directly involved in 39% of Denmark’s competitive goals since the start of 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Team news

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Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen and Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are among the starters for Denmark.

Denmark: Schmeichel, Wass, Kjaer, Christensen, Maehle, Delaney, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Poulsen, Braithwaite, Wind.

Subs: Lossl, Ronnow, Andersen, Vestergaard, Olsen, Dolberg, Damsgaard, Norgaard, Stryger, Cornelius, Jensen, Boilesen.

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Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki starts up front for Finland in their first ever match at a major finals. Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara is also in their 11, while captain Tim Sparv was at Southampton early in his career.

Finland: Hradecky, Raitala, O’Shaughnessy, Ajauuri, Uronen, Kamara, Sparv, Lod, Toivio, Pukki, Pohjanpalo.

Subs: Joronen, Jaakkola, Vaisanen, Taylor, Jensen, Schuller, Soiri, Hamalainen, Kauko, Lappalainen, Ivanov, Forss.

We have an English team of officials with Anthony Taylor the referee, Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn the assistants and Stuart Attwell the video assistant referee.

Finland's qualification for Euro 2020 was the greatest moment in their football history.

Having played their first game back in 1911 and first tried to qualify for the 1938 World Cup, this is the first time they have ever reached a major tournament.

They came close once under Roy Hodgson, but this time they got over the line.

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