England skipper Kane hails Liverpool’s Henderson as ‘one of the best leaders’ he’s ever played with

Harry Kane praised the leadership of team-mate Jordan Henderson after the two starred in England’s resounding last-16 victory over Senegal on Sunday. 

​Henderson has started England’s last two matchesKane praised midfielder for leadershipHighlighted importance of different personalities

WHAT HAPPENED? The Liverpool man broke the deadlock against the Lions of Teranga before Kane scored a record-breaking goal for England’s second in a comfortable 3-0 win, although the Three Lions skipper underlined how Henderson provides a lot more than offensive quality to the team. Kane hailed the midfielder as “one of the best leaders” he’s played with, and highlighted the importance of having different personalities in the side.

WHAT THEY SAID: “Hendo, I’ve always said, is one of the best leaders I’ve played with,” Kane told the Lions’ Den on YouTube. “He’s really vocal, he pushes players to their absolute max and that’s why he’s been great. In the games he has played [he’s been] outstanding with and without the ball pushing everyone. I feel like the way we’ve been pressing, it’s good to hear him behind me.

“You need different types of leaders in your team and we have that with four or five different personalities. Hendo is someone, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, he’ll keep pushing you. As you saw yesterday, it was an amazing performance, great to see him score and a lot of the other good stuff was down to his role in the team.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Henderson’s contributions on and off ball have provided justifications for Gareth Southgate’s recent selections that raised a few eyebrows before kick-off. The 32-year-old played the full 90 minutes on matchday three against Wales before being pulled after 82 against Senegal, with England scoring six goals and conceding none while he has been on the pitch.

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DID YOU KNOW? Aged 32 years and 170 days, Henderson became England’s second-oldest-ever World Cup scorer with his goal against Senegal, after Tom Finney against USSR in 1958 (36y 64d).

WHAT NEXT? Despite Henderson forming a vital part of Southgate’s recent starting line-ups, England will face their toughest test against holders France in Saturday’s quarter-final. The Three Lions boss has a decision to make over whether to stick with the Liverpool man or revert to a more pragmatic back three.