[imagesource: Reuters]

Years down the line, people may look back at last night’s result between Denmark and Russia and forget what makes it so truly remarkable.

After all, beating the Russians 4-1 is impressive, but it’s not like they overcame one of the tournament favourites.

When you factor in what occurred during the Danes’ first match of Euro 2020, with talisman Christian Eriksen collapsing on the field after suffering cardiac arrest, you start to understand why the victory was met with such raw emotion.

On the same Copenhagen pitch where, nine days earlier, the crowd had wondered whether one of their players would live, Denmark romped to victory and booked a last-16 showdown with Wales.

BBC Sport reports that “throughout the match there were outbursts of roaring, delirious celebrations and passion from supporters in Copenhagen”, and at times the noise was almost deafening.

Eriksen visited his teammates on Friday, shortly after being released from hospital, and the Danes could be seen paying tribute to their number 10 at various stages during last night’s 90 minutes.

Here are the highlights from Parken Stadium:

The Danish match finished slightly before the other match in Group C, between Finland and Belgium, meaning there was a wait before their second-place group finish was confirmed.

Once that was in the bag, the raw emotion really shone through:

🇩🇰 Wait for it…

Denmark have their round of 16 spot confirmed! 👏@dbulandshold | #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/SkXKdB9V6c

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 21, 2021

These tweets pretty much sum it up:

Last 10 minutes of this Denmark game have me in Tears of Joy. I am not Danish. Never even set foot in Denmark. But watching this team, who were forced to play in wake of Christian Eriksen’s collapse, summon the tenacity to rebound, fight and win is Sports at its very Best 🇩🇰🙌 pic.twitter.com/4Z4wknDSlm

— roger bennett (@rogbennett) June 21, 2021

🇩🇰 Scenes in Copenhagen! 🥳#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/q6liYdr9K9

— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 21, 2021

BBC commentator Guy Mowbray went as far as to say it is “another terrific tale written in the land of Hans Christian Andersen”.

All in all, a wonderful achievement for the Danes, and a great moment for the tournament on the whole.

Tonight sees Group D conclude, with England playing the Czech Republic and already assured of qualifying for the round of 16. Hopefully, that means Gareth Southgate will properly unleash the wealth of attacking talent in the English squad.

The real spectacle should be the group’s other match, between Croatia and Scotland. A win for either side secures a spot in the next round, but a draw would see both sides exit the tournament.

Those two matches will kick off at 9PM our time.

[source:bbcsport]