Thomas Tuchel has made some controversial choices when picking his England team for the World Cup.
Ivan Toney has come back into the fold despite not being picked for England very much over the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, the likes of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden have been left at home.
On top of that, the selection of Jordan Henderson has raised a few eyebrows, but speaking on his TikTok page, John Terry has now justified this decision.
John Terry backs Jordan Henderson’s England selection
Terry spoke about Henderson’s role in this England squad.
The former England captain admitted that, at this point, Henderson is not one of the Premier League’s best players, however, he still thinks he’s worthy of being in the England squad.
Indeed, Terry reckons Henderson’s professionalism and experience will be important for England, claiming that he could be an important player late in cagey games.
“My honest thoughts of Jordan being involved is 100% I get it from the managerial perspective.
“Is Jordan one of the best players in the Premier League this year? No, you could argue not.
“Would I personally want Jordan around the place? Yes, 100%.
“Is Jordan Henderson a very, very good footballer? Yes, he is.
“You could probably claim that Adam Wharton deserves the shirt over him. You could probably claim a couple more.
“People have their opinions, but these are mine, and I’m quite strong on it as well. So two calls gone for the decision where you’re bringing a player in that’s going to drive those standards. I speak about this quite a lot, regardless of England, about people that are going to drive the standards, drive the training, and manage stuff because when you’re a manager at a big tournament, you’ve got so much to worry about anyway.
“It’s really important that you’ve got a group of players. John Stones falls into this, I’m sure Pickford, Harry Kane falls into it. I’m sure big Dan Burn falls into this as well. Good people around allow the players to manage that group of players in it and allows the manager to focus on what he needs to focus on, which is the tactics, the opposition all of that.
“Now, I’ve heard people like Roy Keane come out and go, ‘what’s he doing, magic tricks?’ and stuff like that. No, he’s not. He’s a fantastic player. And also, if we’re under pressure a little bit, I can see him coming on for 15, 20 minutes, winning the game 1-0. People like that being experienced pros, seeing the game out, showing a little bit of the dark arts that we don’t really see, time wasting, all of these little bits that he’s got bundles of experience. So, do I think he can make a big impact at the World Cup? I 100% do, and would I have him there? Yeah, I would.”
Jordan Henderson is still valuable to England
Terry knows what he’s talking about, and he’s spot on here.
England are able to name a 26-man squad, and within that, you want a number of players you can describe as natural leaders.
Henderson ticks that box.
Henderson has won all there is to win at club level, and almost every single one of his former Liverpool teammates has spoken about what a great leader he is.
This is a young squad that needs a clear leader within it, and while Henderson may not be as good as a player like Adam Wharton at this point, he’s much better-suited to the role he’s going to play at this tournament.
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