England’s interim boss Gareth Southgate has backed Jordan Henderson to lead the side when they take on Slovenia on Tuesday.
Southgate made the call on Monday to drop captain Wayne Rooney following a difficult few months for the Manchester United skipper and has selected the man who wears the armband for Liverpool to lead out the Three Lions.
Having taken over that responsibility from Steven Gerrard at the start of last season, Henderson has matured into the role and, as he has often done throughout his career, adapted his game to benefit the team.
The 26-year-old’s exploits at club level saw him selected for the job ahead of the likes of Joe Hart and Gary Cahill, in what could be one of England’s toughest tests of their entire 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
England are 1.67 to win on Tuesday, with the draw 3.80 and Slovenia are 6.00.
Dropping Rooney has earned Southgate plenty of headlines but after watching the way Henderson has conducted himself at Anfield, he is confident he has picked the right man to fill the void in Ljubljana.
“What stood out for me is that he has taken over as captain at a club where he has succeeded one of the most iconic English footballers of all time,” said Southgate.
“That would have been a difficult challenge for him and he has matured from that. He has shown great leadership skills with his club.
“It was not an easy decision because there are other senior players in that dressing room but he has captained a big football club and is used to that responsibility, so it is the right decision for me.”
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