Two England teammates of Jordan Henderson have described the former Liverpool captain as ‘the best person’ they’ve encountered in their football careers.
The 35-year-old is set to partake in his fourth World Cup over the next few weeks, having been included in Thomas Tuchel’s final 26-player selection for the finals in North America.
The midfielder was given a rousing reception from all four stands at Anfield when he returned there with Brentford on the final day of the recently concluded Premier League season, and a couple of his positional peers in the Three Lions squad have spoken glowingly about him.
In a feature for the official England app (via @England on X), both Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers waxed lyrical about what Henderson is like in the national team camp and on the pitch.
These were some of the lines from the Real Madrid midfielder:
“He’s so funny, he’s the funniest guy at this camp and he gets everyone laughing.”
“If there’s a problem between two people, he’d bring them together. He’s that kind of person where even the staff would go to him to sort out issues. He’s got no ego when it comes to supporting the team. He’s a Champions League-winning captain and a Premier League-winning captain. For us inside, he’s the first name on the teamsheet.”
“If you need cheering up, he has a perfect line. If there’s a bit of banter going around, he’ll say something and have the whole room cracking up. He’ll be there to make sure that person is pushing the standards to reach the level that he thinks we should be at.”
As for Rogers, he gave these testimonies about Henderson:
“If people did a blind ranking of people they’d want at the camp beforehand, he’d be in everyone’s top five.”
“I was annoyed my chances [in a pre-World Cup friendly] weren’t coming off. I gave him one look in the face and he’ll tell you and let you know, and then again you’re in a happy mood. It’s just the way he is; he has that persona and character.”
Tellingly, both players described Henderson as ‘the best person I’ve ever come across in football’.
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Some pundits and England fans seemed to question the 35-year-old’s inclusion in Tuchel’s World Cup squad, but you need only listen to what Bellingham and Rogers had to say about him to get a clear idea of how highly he’s regarded within the camp.
Henderson made his Three Lions debut all the way back in 2010, when the Real Madrid and Aston Villa stars were seven and eight years old respectively, and a player they’d have grown up watching has now become a teammate at the biggest tournament in football.
That duo are expected to battle it out for a starting berth behind Harry Kane in the England line-up, although the ex-Liverpool captain is likely to be left relying mostly on substitute appearances at this World Cup.
Nine of his 89 caps have come with Tuchel in charge, although just three of those have been starts (two friendlies and a qualifier against Andorra), so the 35-year-old’s influence is most likely to be felt in the training camp rather than on matchday.
Nonetheless, you can be sure that Henderson will be primed and ready to serve his country with distinction if he’s called upon at the tournament, and it was notable that Jamie Carragher said in the final few weeks of the season that his former teammate ‘should still be at Liverpool’.
Hopefullly he’ll get the opportunity to prove his enduring class at the World Cup and prove to his doubters that he 100% merits a place in the England squad. Bellingham and Rogers certainly don’t need any convincing.
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