287 days after his cardiac arrest at the European Championships, the Dane Christian Eriksen has played for his country again for the first time.

And made an impressive comeback in a friendly against the Netherlands on Saturday.

He hadn't been on the pitch two minutes before he snuck up to the edge of the penalty area behind the giant Dutch defenders.

There was no one around to get in his way.

When fellow Danish player Andreas Skov-Olsen broke free on the right flank, Eriksen stretched out both arms in anxious anticipation, palms open to signal, "Pass the ball to me!"

Skov-Olsen played low and sharp for the height of the penalty spot – right on Eriksen's inside instep on the right.

He didn't hit it with full force, but instead deflected the energy of the pass into the upper left corner of the Dutch goal with a skillful foot position.

It was an impressive goal to make it 2:3 from a Danish point of view.

And it's the moment that will live on from an entertaining game that the Netherlands won 4-2.

With his artful shot, Eriksen recalled why people like to watch the Danish number ten play football, why he had been missed so much in recent months.

On June 12, 2021, Eriksen collapsed on the field in the first round match of the European Championship against Finland and had to be resuscitated.

Eriksen with Nordic coolness

Now the 30-year-old midfielder is back, coming on as a half-time substitute against the Netherlands to applause from Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal and the 50,000 mostly orange-clad fans at the Amsterdam Arena.

It was a fitting place to return to the Danish national team.

When he played for Ajax early in his career, Eriksen had four and a half "good years" there, as he says himself.

The Dane is not a loudspeaker, he is not prone to theatrics.

After scoring, he dutifully went into the arms of assist provider Skov-Olsen, raised his fist in the direction of the stands and briefly exclaimed joy.

He had a wide grin on his face, but no wider than that of his teammates who swarmed around him.

Then Eriksen sprinted back into his own half with Nordic coolness and gave instructions to a teammate while still gesturing.

If you didn't know what a tale of woe this man had to go through, you would have assumed that his 110th international match was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

The importance of the return became clear in an interview with the Dutch broadcaster NOS.

"I feel like a footballer again," said Eriksen.

And he linked this feeling with the hope of being perceived as such again.

"When it comes to me, articles and pictures of the incident keep popping up," he said.

“That will change in a few months.

It will still be about me, but hopefully it will be about the footballer again and not about the guy who was gone for a few minutes at the European Championship."

The words of Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt show how present these impressions are: “I had goosebumps.

It's great that he's back," he said.

A month ago, Eriksen made his debut for his new club FC Brentford in the English Premier League.

Because the statutes of the Italian league prohibit it, he was no longer allowed to play at Inter Milan after having a defibrillator inserted.

In Amsterdam, Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke to all football fans when he said to Eriksen: "Enjoy it - and welcome back."