COPENHAGEN: Christian Eriksen scored a stunning late winner to give Denmark a 2-1 victory over Sweden in a lively pre-Euro 2024 friendly at a sold-out Parken Stadium on Wednesday, cementing his spot as the Danes' most potent creative force ahead of the tournament in Germany.
It took just over a minute for the home side to break the deadlock as Sweden's defence was caught napping at the game's first corner, and Eriksen found Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at the near post for an easy finish.
With the red-clad fans expecting that to be the beginning of an onslaught, the Swedes struck back quickly through Alexander Isak, who collected a blocked shot from Jens Cajuste and slammed it past Frederik Ronnow in the Danish goal seven minutes later.
The 32-year-old Eriksen, who collapsed due to a heart attack on the same pitch in Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland, pulled the strings throughout, and his curling, dipping strike in the 86th minute gave the Danes a well-deserved win.
Sweden's Danish coach Jon Dahl Tomasson was inducted into the Danish football Hall Of Fame ahead of kickoff, and his side defended well but faltered in attack, with Isak and Dejan Kulusevski often crowded out by the Danish defence.
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand gave credit to Tomasson for his work so far with Sweden, who failed to qualify for the Euros under previous coach Janne Andersson, opening the door for the Dane to take over.
"(They play) an incredibly aggressive man-to-man game. I think in general we gave away too many turnovers in the first half, and they got chances they shouldn't have gotten," Hjulmand told broadcaster TV2.
"We should have scored a little more ... we must look at the opportunities Sweden got, because we must not give them chances," he added.
A delighted Eriksen was almost happier for the assist for the opening goal than he was for scoring the winner, having come in for some criticism for a string of poor set pieces in qualifying.
"It was nice, and it was good that we scored from a dead ball, I think it created a bit of calm in our team," he told broadcaster TV2.
Denmark round off their Euro 2024 preparations with a home game against Norway on Saturday before travelling to Germany, where they will face Slovenia, England and Serbia in Group C. - REUTERS