What Henderson recall tells us about his team-mates

Veteran's shock selection is quietly damning in more ways than one

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When Jordan Henderson turned up at the final of Euro 2024, having driven from Amsterdam to Berlin in a hired van, you wondered whether England might have done with him sooner. On the eve of the tournament, Gareth Southgate had been hailed for his ruthlessness in making Henderson, Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford and the injured Harry Maguire part of a surprise cull of a squad that suddenly bore a strong lilt towards youth and recent form.

Once the group stage began, however, it became obvious that too much had changed too soon. Though his side fought their way to the final, Southgate admitted he sensed fear among his novices at the weight of expectation, as well as their surprise at the scale of criticism as England advanced without playing well.

Among the absent, older heads, as Southgate cycled through midfield options, Henderson was missed on and off the pitch. Whether he, even then a declining force after his move to Saudi Arabia, could have replicated his England best seems unlikely.

Would his experience have helped calm an anxious camp? Probably.