Euro 2020: England v Scotland - Harry Kane focused but pleased good friend Christian Erikson recovering

Belgium’s 2-1 win over Denmark yesterday, the latter’s first game since Eriksen collapsed on the pitch against Finland, was hugely shaped by the emotion around the midfielder, who is recovering well in a Copenhagen hospital. It went as far as Belgium kicking the ball out of play after 10 minutes so both sets of players and the officials could give Eriksen a round of applause.

The emotion seemed to inspire Eriksen’s team-mates as they took the lead in the first half but perhaps left them short of energy to combat the introduction of Belgian substitutes Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Axel Witsel in the second.

Kane is looking forward to seeing his former Tottenham Hotspur colleague soon, but ahead of tonight’s England versus Scotland game, he has been trying not to get too distracted.

“It’s been difficult,” said Kane, who scored a dramatic Hampden Park equaliser when England last played Scotland in what was the striker’s first international as captain.

“To watch it last week was really hard and thankfully Christian’s alive and seems to be doing well.

“I’ve not had any contact with him personally but my wife has spoken to his wife and from what I understand, everything’s going in a good way.

“We’ve had to try and switch off from it and try and focus on the game but Christian’s in all our hearts, not just our team but the whole football family.

“It’s a reminder of how quickly things can change in life and never to take things for granted.

“I wish him all the best and hope to see him soon personally. Hopefully after this tournament we can do that.”

Romelu Lukaku, an Inter Milan team-mate of Eriksen’s, was quick to address his best wishes towards a television camera after scoring his first goal of the tournament hours after the worrying incident and others have made their gestures of support too.

“I’ll have to score a goal first before I can think of anything like that,” said Kane, who has only scored once from open play in 10 internationals since the world changed with the outbreak of Covid-19.

“We’ll see what happens but Christian’s a good friend and the most important thing is he knows we’re all thinking of him and that he’s getting better day by day.”