Jordan Henderson hailed the defensive partnership between Manchester United and Manchester City duo, Harry Maguire and John Stones with England, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The Liverpool midfielder thinks Maguire and Stones, who are Gareth Southgate’s first-choice centre-back partnership, were ‘really good’ as England recorded a goalless draw against the USA in Doha on Friday.
It was perhaps surprising to many that Henderson was brought into the action in the second half of that Group B game, despite England’s performance being lacklustre and the team needing a goal.
But whilst that attacking bite, after putting six past Iran, wasn’t there against the Americans, it was a much-needed clean sheet for the English.
That was praised by Henderson, as well as the ‘important’ bits of play from Maguire and Stones, as he told the Lions’ Den on England’s YouTube account.
“I thought him and Stones were really good,” said Henderson. “They made some important headers. Good blocks. Important blocks in the game and they were a big part in the clean sheet.”
MAGUIRE AND STONES ANSWERING CRITICS
Heading to Qatar, one of the big talking points about England’s squad was their weakness in defence.
The injury to Reece James didn’t help, plus Kyle Walker wasn’t fit for the start of the tournament, so it made the backline even weaker.
Plus, whilst Stones is enjoying himself on one side of Manchester, the same can’t be said for Maguire on the other side, but it’s fair to say, he is shutting a lot of people up now.
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