Kevin de Bruyne inspired Belgium to a comeback win against Denmark that secured their place in the last 16 of Euro 2020 as fans and players paid tribute to Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, who is recovering after suffering cardiac arrest.

Tributes were paid to Denmark’s talismanic number 10 before and during the game, with play stopped in the 10th minute as players, officials and supporters joined together for a minute’s applause.

That came after Yussuf Poulsen gave the hosts a dream start just one minute and 39 seconds into the game, slotting in after a mistake in the Belgium defence.

De Bruyne was sent on at the start of the second half and the Manchester City midfielder changed the game.

He played a part in the equaliser, receiving a pass from Romelu Lukaku before superbly finding Thorgan Hazard to fire home, and then drove in the winner with 20 minutes remaining after a brilliant move started by Lukaku.

Martin Braithwaite went close to a late equaliser for Denmark but his header skimmed the top of the bar.

Victory means Belgium are top of Group B with six points from two games while Denmark are bottom of the standings with zero points.

Denmark were making their return to the Parken Stadium for the first time since those shocking scenes of Eriksen collapsing on the pitch at the weekend.

Both sets of fans showed their support for the player with messages to him on banners in the stands, while the conclusion of the Danish national anthem was greeted with a huge roar, one that was surpassed barely two minutes later when Denmark took the lead after an error in Belgian defence

A poor clearance by Jason Denayer was pounced upon by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who quickly found Poulsen and the Denmark forward slotted home.

Belgium, who had brushed aside Russia 3-0 in their group opener, just could not get going as the occasion seemed to overwhelm them.

But the introduction of De Bruyne for the start of the second half changed all that as he provided a brilliant cameo performance.

The midfielder has recently recovered from a fractured nose and eye socket but his return and performance from off the bench will give the Belgians a real boost heading into the knockout rounds.

Player of the match

De BruyneKevin De Bruyne

with an average of 8.64

Denmark

1. Squad number4Player nameKjaer

   Average rating

   7.24

2. Squad number20Player namePoulsen

   Average rating

   7.21

3. Squad number9Player nameBraithwaite

   Average rating

   7.07

4. Squad number23Player nameHøjbjerg

   Average rating

   6.92

5. Squad number8Player nameDelaney

   Average rating

   6.90

6. Squad number14Player nameDamsgaard

   Average rating

   6.83

7. Squad number3Player nameVestergaard

   Average rating

   6.78

8. Squad number1Player nameSchmeichel

   Average rating

   6.77

9. Squad number6Player nameChristensen

   Average rating

   6.74

10. Squad number18Player nameWass

    Average rating

    6.70

11. Squad number5Player nameMaehle

    Average rating

    6.65

12. Squad number11Player nameSkov Olsen

    Average rating

    6.43

13. Squad number15Player nameNørgaard

    Average rating

    6.29

14. Squad number17Player nameStryger Larsen

    Average rating

    6.13

15. Squad number24Player nameJensen

    Average rating

    6.00

16. Squad number21Player nameCornelius

    Average rating

    5.91

Belgium

1. Squad number7Player nameDe Bruyne

   Average rating

   8.64

2. Squad number9Player nameLukaku

   Average rating

   7.38

3. Squad number10Player nameE Hazard

   Average rating

   7.16

4. Squad number16Player nameT Hazard

   Average rating

   6.55

5. Squad number1Player nameCourtois

   Average rating

   6.22

6. Squad number6Player nameWitsel

   Average rating

   6.13

7. Squad number8Player nameTielemans

   Average rating

   6.02

8. Squad number15Player nameMeunier

   Average rating

   5.71

9. Squad number2Player nameAlderweireld

   Average rating

   5.66

10. Squad number3Player nameVermaelen

    Average rating

    5.47

11. Squad number14Player nameMertens

    Average rating

    5.46

12. Squad number11Player nameCarrasco

    Average rating

    5.40

13. Squad number5Player nameVertonghen

    Average rating

    5.39

14. Squad number19Player nameDendoncker

    Average rating

    5.36

15. Squad number18Player nameDenayer

    Average rating

    4.77

Sourced From BBC