“Oh wow”: Liverpool man hits back at journalist who suggests 2022 World Cup will be his last

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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been speaking to ITV as part of a feature for England at the World Cup.

During the interview, Gabriel Clarke said that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will “probably” be the 32-year-old’s last one, which prompted an interesting response from the midfielder.

Liverpool captain Henderson has eyes on 2026 World Cup

Well, Henderson was quick to shoot down Clarke’s suggestion, claiming that he’s seen many 36-year-old footballers at the World Cup, so there is no reason why he can’t partake in the United States in 2026.

The Liverpool No.14 said: “Oh, wow! You chucking that out there, yeah?!” To be honest, you never know when your last World Cup is. Even if you’re 21, 26, whatever your age, you never quite know when, because they don’t come around very often.”

A very diplomatic answer, to say the least.

As things stand, Henderson has made seven appearances at the World Cup across the 2014 and 2018 editions of the tournament, helping England reach the semi-final in Russia 2018.

However, most of the Sunderland-born maestro’s appearances under Gareth Southgate have come from the bench, as Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips or Jude Bellingham are preferred in midfield.

Henderson should focus on Liverpool

We admire his defiance to Clarke’s suggestion, although we believe Henderson should seriously consider retiring from international football after this World Cup to focus on Liverpool.

As aforesaid, he is far from a key player under Southgate, and some of the Premier League’s greatest have shown why it may be a wise decision to step down from international duty.

For example, Alan Shearer retired from international football at the age of 29, which enabled him to make 228 more Premier League appearances, in which he remarkably scored 113 goals.

Paul Scholes also retired from England duty at 29, which helped him play at the highest level for Manchester United for a further nine years.

If Southgate continues to overlook Henderson in Qatar, the Liverpool skipper should definitely have a think about retiring from international football.