As 33-year-old Christian Eriksen gets ready to play his 143rd match for Denmark in a friendly against Northern Ireland on Saturday, he spoke on the podcast Fodboldlisten by dr.dk about one thing that still bothers him when he thinks about his football career.
Eriksen has had success at the club level, winning league titles with Ajax and Inter Milan and reaching the Champions League final with Tottenham. But when it comes to his time with the Danish national team, he feels there’s still something left unfinished.
“I wish I had gone further with Denmark in a major tournament,” Eriksen said. “We had the 2021 Euros, of course, but I didn’t really feel like I was part of it the way I should have been,” he explained, referring to the serious heart incident he suffered during Denmark’s first game against Finland, which forced him to miss the rest of the tournament.
Eriksen has represented Denmark in six major international tournaments: the World Cups in 2010, 2018, and 2022, and the European Championships in 2012, 2021, and 2024.
The team had strong performances in the 2018 and 2024 tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals. The 2021 Euros could have been even better, but Eriksen’s absence after his collapse changed everything.
“I always hoped to help Denmark reach even further,” he said. “That’s something I feel I missed out on — the chance to really make a mark in our football history. That’s still missing for me.”
No player in Denmark’s football history has played more international matches than Christian Eriksen, and he feels proud of this achievement.
“To be sitting here today as the player with the most caps is something truly special. I’m extremely thankful that I’ve been able to reach this milestone. It also feels like a small reward for myself, showing that I’ve achieved many of the goals I set in my career,” Eriksen shared.
The upcoming World Cup is likely to be Eriksen’s final appearance with the Danish national team, and he hopes to end on a high note.
“In most of the big tournaments, we’ve made it out of the group stage, but then struggled in the round of 16. That’s when we usually face stronger teams. It was the same last time in Germany — I think we played well, but Germany were simply better and took their chances,” he added.
