Gareth Southgate has defended his decision to include Jordan Henderson in his England squad for Euro 2020 as the Liverpool captain’s involvement continues to be the subject of scrutiny. The 31-year-old was an unused substitute as the Three Lions opened the tournament with a 1-0 win over Croatia, having only made his comeback from injury, following groin surgery in February, the week before in England’s final warm-up game against Romania
Gareth Southgate said: “With a 26-man squad we were able to take a little bit more of a risk with Hendo. Those decisions were easier because the consequences of taking players that weren’t match-ready for the first couple of matches perhaps were less impactful than if you only had 23. We’ve got some decent cover in that area of the pitch but the drop-off from not taking Hendo was such that we preferred to give him the opportunity to make it. We’ve obviously had Jude (Bellingham) come through which has been a real bonus as well as Kalvin (Phillips). The decisions might have been different, we’ll never know what decisions we would have taken if we had 23 because that was not the scenario we were working with. What he brings to the group on the training pitch, what he brings around the camp, his experience, the way he can speak to some of the other players in those quiet moments when you’re in around the hotel. He’s similar to Harry (Kane) in the way he trains and the way he approaches his work. It’s a great advantage for us to have him in with the team.”
Southgate also offered a fitness update on Henderson when confirming he is closing in on being ready to start for his country.
Gareth Southgate revealed: “He is training consistently now and he is getting closer to the level we need him to be at. You’ve got to have the physical part right, there’s no doubt about that, even if it’s only for 15-20 minutes of a game. You’ve got to be able to press well and get around the pitch well. But there are other factors when you’re building a squad and when you’re building a team. All of those parts are key to producing a winning environment. Both players (Henderson and Harry Maguire) are training with the team. Both are available for tomorrow night and we’re looking forward to them being part of the games.”
Southgate also admitted he was wary of the threat Scotland captain Andy Robertson could pose to his side at Wembley on Friday. The Liverpool defender created a tournament-high six chances in the Tartan Army’s opening defeat to Czech Republic on Monday. And with Robertson one of a number of Premier League players that England will be up against, Southgate revealed what his side will need to do to get the better of some familiar faces.
Gareth Southgate said: “We know they’ve got some very good players. We know they’ve got some good players playing in the Scottish Premiership and we know all the players playing in the English Premier League are at a very high level. We certainly don’t underestimate the challenge. Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson form a very good partnership down that side of the field for Scotland. (There are) lots of team-mates so the players know them very, very well but we’ve got to focus on what we do and how we combat Scotland’s way of playing, their build-up play, their ability to deliver a lot of crosses into the box and then find the areas we’ve got to exploit in the way they defend. That’s the same for every game we prepare for.”
