Denmark's Christian Eriksen on being a record breaker, his fine form and last-16 opponents Germany

Michael Laudrup, Peter Schmeichel, Morten Olsen, Daniel Agger, Preben Elkjær, Allan Simonsen – the walk of Danish football fame is festooned with players who have achieved great things at club and international level. Yet, at least in one respect, Christian Eriksen stands above them all.

When the midfielder lined up for Denmark's final group match against Serbia, he was doing so for the 133rd time – surpassing Simon Kjær as the nation's most-capped male footballer. He duly delivered his second Player of the Match performance of the finals as the Danes booked a UEFA EURO 2024 last-16 spot.

In this interview with EURO2024.com, the 32-year-old reflects on that achievement with trademark humility and looks ahead to Saturday's meeting with hosts Germany.

Congratulations! You're now Denmark's record appearance-maker – how does that feel?

First and foremost, I'm very proud to have won so many international caps. It's a bit of a strange feeling because a lot of the players who are up there are all-time greats of Danish football. To be there alongside them is something I will look upon fondly when I'm done playing, with a big smile on my face.

How often did you look at the numbers and think, 'Right, I'm getting close now'?

It wasn't really a goal of mine to reach that number. I was just excited about playing. Of course, it's been talked about, and people have approached me saying they were sure I would make it. I never thought it would be possible. Even though I got to 50 caps pretty early in my career, it still wasn't a goal.

Suppose we had a time machine, and you could travel back to early March 2010 before your Denmark debut. What advice would you give 18-year-old Christian?

I would probably tell myself that I didn't have to be so shy, that I didn't have to hold myself back so much off the pitch. On the pitch, there wasn't – and still isn't – anything worrying me or making me feel uncomfortable, but I shouldn't have been so quiet off the pitch.

Your team-mates have said how much it means to them to see you back playing in the form you are in. What does that mean to you?

I don't think my form has ever dipped below this level, but bearing in mind what happened when I was out of the game completely, I've been lucky. I worked hard to get back to playing football again.

I'm happy [my team-mates] think I play a crucial role and can contribute to the national team; I've always tried to. I get the contrast between someone not playing much football at all [at club level] and then suddenly playing football again at a high level. It makes me proud.

Next up are hosts Germany in Dortmund on Saturday…

I'm really looking forward to it. A knockout game against Germany in Germany – it doesn't get any bigger than that. A lot of people seem to think that we've lost already, so we can play freely and give our all. I'm looking forward to showing that we can rub shoulders [with the best teams] in this tournament. I believe we can beat the Germans, but many things will have to come together for us.