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J Ordan Henderson huddled out of the Samara Arena on Saturday night, offering a few optimistic little phrases. "It does not hurt me too much," was soon followed by "I hope everything will be fine". But he says everything about the impact that the Liverpool midfielder has done in Russia that the admission that he had stretched a hamstring already tight late in the win against Sweden instantly spilled over a sense of dread among his audience.
Henderson, a figure who has rather divided opinion over the years, is established as the heartbeat of this team. The Liverpool man puts the tempo of much of the attacking game, leading the pace of his move forward, and is a source of rebadurance and calm authority when he is in control. it disrupts the opponents by coming in the other direction. Nobody could match his three interceptions in the quarterfinals. The former Sunderland player may not be spectacular, but he is as conscientious as he is combative, putting the collective ahead of any personal pursuit of braces. The kind of player Gareth Southgate loves.
Race statistics speak for themselves. He covered 45.1 km in his 385 minutes of football at this tournament, behind Jesse Lingard (46.14 km in 362 minutes) and John Stones (45.94 km in 435) in England
. the first time that he was running less than 10 km, although this may reflect the relative comfort of England's win against opponents who lacked cunning or aggression to disrupt the Approach winners. Southgate opted for Harry Kane this year, he is also the team's second captain on the team's field, the player who barks instructions to teammates while they line up on games, leading the races that were painstakingly done with the attack coach, Allan Russell. back to Zelenogorsk and have wreaked havoc on the opponents of Tunisia to Sweden. He is the organizer, the manager's voice on the turf, and, quickly, something of a talisman.
No other English international can match its current run of 30 consecutive games without defeat, a sequence that started with the 1-0 friendly win at Wembley in September 2014 against Norway.
Kane remains an inspiration, one of the best players in the team, but without Henderson, 28 last month, England may be devoid of mobility in the middle of the field. He, like Lingard, Jordan Pickford and Harry Maguire, is the incarnation of the style that Southgate has implemented since qualification was badured and that the longer-term philosophy could be put forward. "The gaffer wanted to make sure the team had an identity with our way of playing," Henderson said. "It was an open conversation from the beginning, and we were all on the same hymn sheet."
"It's important that everyone knows their role individually and collectively in a group, and the guys have bought what he wants." I'm lucky enough to have it in Liverpool too, with Jürgen Klopp who, for me, is one of the best managers in the world.He helped me progress as a player and I tried to bring this here. "
En as captain of Liverpool, Henderson always encouraged his teammates to say what they thought and never considered others as a status challenge. His instinct is less to make regular rallying cries. As a result, when he feels the need to move, his words have a lot more weight. Yet, despite all his presence on the ground, it was his performances in Russia that really attracted attention.
England did not have to face a real elite opposition, but it imposed itself at key stages: helping to suppress the physicality of Colombia, or injecting of energy against the defensive defense of Sweden. There were times in the first half at Samara where even he could admit that his tempo had gone down, as he had taken the manager's pre-game warning too seriously could prove an opportunity where patience was the key. But there were reminders of the need to move possession at a faster pace in the interval and, within 39 minutes, he managed after the break before the hamstrings tightened, he led his team . He provided the urgency, allowing Dele Alli to push further into areas where his own game can flourish.
Eric Dier will always be a more natural defender, or a former midfielder removed from the old school, but it may seem weighing comparison, slow down the game as far as the main threat of this team – their pace at the # Approach – may be blunted.
England under Southgate needed someone a little more progressive, and Henderson fit that bill.
He had returned to St. Petersburg in the early hours of Sunday morning. The concerns of his physical form rested more on fatigue than on the hamstrings. He should train on Monday and will be followed until Wednesday's semifinal in Moscow. The idea of not aligning against Croatia is unpleasant, with this anxiety of post-game claudication far from being unknown.
Back to Liverpool late April, with the second leg of a semi-final of the Champions League against Roma. He had rolled an ankle against Stoke and was lying on the grbad in obvious discomfort while the medical staff was treating him for three or four minutes.
The silence that had gone down inside Anfield told his own story. Henderson, whom Brendan Rodgers was ready to sell in 2012, is an integral part. He will eventually qualify for the return and will participate in his last two high-level matches before Real Madrid finishes the season in Kiev. Luka Modric helped distract the Liverpool midfielder that night, and he was expecting England at Luzhniki Stadium
"Being able to play on this stage is so important to us," said Henderson. I'm just proud of all the guys for the work we've done as a team over the last few years to get here. You must compete in the football tournament. "He personifies such a selfless spirit.
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