Christian Eriksen scored with his first touch on his return to Denmark, 287 days after his heart stopped at Euro 2020.
Coming on as a substitute against the Netherlands at half-time in Amsterdam, Eriksen scored within two minutes of Andreas Skov Olsen’s cross into the box and his first shot into the top left corner.
However, Eriksen was on the losing side. Tottenham’s Steven Bergwijn put the Dutch ahead before Leicester’s Yannick Vestergaard equalized. Manchester City’s Nathan Ake restored the Dutch lead, while Barcelona’s Memphis Depay made it 3-1 at half-time from a penalty. Eriksen closed the gap before Bergwijn completed the victory with his second.
“I was pleased to show that I can still play. It feels like I’ve never been away from the team,” Eriksen told Dutch television. “It was a little exciting to be back with the national team, but I haven’t missed a single game in the last 10 years, so I’m like a member of the family.”
Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal said: “I think we did a good job and gave them almost no chance while creating a lot for ourselves.”
In Baden-Württemburg, Chelsea’s Kai Havertz and Timo Werner scored first-half goals in their 2–0 win over Israel, making them eight wins out of eight under Hansi Flick.
“I’m happy with our performance today,” Flick said. “We’re happy with every part of our game.”
“I am a striker and I want to score goals. Things can go wrong at Chelsea,” Werner said as he battled for form at his club.
“There are differences in style when you play for a club or a national team. Maybe it suits me better. I feel good when I play here.”
Spain needed a 90th-minute winner from Dani Olmo to beat Albania 2-1 at Espanyol’s Cornella El Prat stadium. It took the hosts 75 minutes to break the deadlock thanks to Ferran Torres, but Mirto Uzuni equalized.
“The crowd was amazing, they deserved to win,” Olmo told reporters. “We dominated and it was a good test. If we’re playing friendly matches now, it’s because we’ve qualified for the World Cup, and that says a lot.”
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