UEFA has invited Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen to the European Championship final along with the medics who helped to save his life. Eriksen collapsed on the field during his team's opening match against Finland on June 12 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator.

Denmark will play England in the Euro 2020 semifinals on Wednesday. The final is scheduled for Sunday.

“I’m excited, like a child on Christmas Eve. I’m very proud of my efforts, but also of the whole team. It wasn’t a one-man effort,” the Inter Milan midfielder told Fagbladet FOA magazine. Erisken had collapsed during Denmark's Euro 2020 opener versus Finland, which was later diagnosed as a cardiac arrest. He spent a week in the hospital before going home to recover.

The Danes will next play England in the semi-final on Wednesday in London. "He's always been a very important part of the team and he still is," Denmark midfielder Thomas Delaney said through an interpreter. "Of course we carry him in our hearts. He should have been here. It's still something we're struggling with, but making him proud is something that makes me happy."

The team's next match will be at a stadium Eriksen knows well. The home of England's national team also served as Tottenham's temporary home for part of Eriksen's seven years at the London club.

And in October, Eriksen scored Denmark's only goal at Wembley in a 1-0 victory over England in the Nations League. "That team is not something we've built overnight," Hjulmand said. "He has been a part of the team for a very long time. I think about him all the time, wish he were here and I'm sending a lot of greetings to him and he's a big part of this result."