Back in October 2014, then-Denmark boss Morten Olsen delivered the most stinging rebuke of Christian Eriksen's career. "We blame him. He must stand up to the criticism. It is a brutal world, otherwise you have to play at another level. It is not Ajax any more. This is not development," Olsen said after Eriksen had been anonymous in a 1-0 European Championship qualifying defeat to Portugal.
The game was won by Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in the fifth minute of stoppage-time and Olsen's implication was obvious: like Ronaldo, Eriksen was good enough and experienced enough to be deciding big matches.