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Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has hailed England midfielder Jordan Henderson for his “immaculate” World Cup performances.
Henderson was not named in the starting line-up for the Three Lions’ opening two group games, but has made a big impression after featuring from the outset in the Group B closer against Wales and the last-16 triumph over Senegal.
The Liverpool midfielder scored the opener against Senegal, becoming his country’s second-oldest scorer in the finals aged 32 years and 170 days, after Tom Finney against USSR in 1958 – at 36 years and 64 days.
Gerrard has been impressed with his former Reds team-mate’s leadership qualities and believes his contribution can sometimes be undervalued.
“Obviously being an England fan I’m following England and Jordan from a personal point of view. I think he’s been immaculate, both on and off the pitch,” Gerrard told Liverpoolfc.com.
“His last performance he was obviously man of the match, very well deserved, and he shut a few critics up that for some reason seem to point fingers at Jordan.
“Being a midfielder, being around Jordan on the daily basis, to see the sacrifices, his dedication and what he puts into his own preparation, the hard work that he puts in, I’m not surprised that he’s putting in this level of performance and I’m delighted for him.
“But it seems as if a lot of people outside the LFC family don’t need an invite to point a finger towards him so I’m delighted that he has shut a few up.”
Asked what attributes Henderson brings to the England midfield, Gerrard added: “Experience would be the most important thing.
“I think England have got a lot of young, exciting talent, but you need experienced players that positionally give these younger players licence to go and cause a lot of damage.
“I think Jordan, what he’s found in that performance is a typical Jordan Henderson performance where he is solid, his A to Bs are all really good, positionally he is bang on, but at the right time he joins in and gets himself forward.
“He’s a really strong runner and his timing for the goal and his execution of the goal was world-class and it was the perfect all-round performance, so credit to him.”
Henderson will be hoping to start again alongside Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice in midfield when England take on France in a mouthwatering quarter-final on Saturday.
