Henderson justifies England place with Bellingham defence

The Three Lions are waiting for what feels like an eternity to get their campaign underway, with their first game coming on Wednesday against Croatia in Group L. 

One player which continues to be debated amongst fans is Jordan Henderson and whether he should be in Thomas Tuchel's squad.  

At 35, there does not appear to be an obvious place for Henderson when it comes to on the pitch, but Tuchel has brought him in for what he can do away from it. 

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Henderson has been an integral part of England's revival. He was a member of Gareth Southgate's squad for the 2018 World Cup, which has seen the England team go from strength to strength. 

Now, as younger members of the squad come under the intense scrutiny of being an England player, Henderson has realised his role is to protect them from buckling. 

'A lot of what gets written about Bellingham is not true'

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham is arguably the England player who comes under the most intense scrutiny. 

In addition to his every move on the pitch, everything he does off it is examined with a microscope, with some ready to jump on any slight error he makes. 

This adds unnecessary noise to Bellingham's preparations, who is being thrust into battle amongst media and fans over whether he starts in the team's number 10 position over Morgan Rogers. 

On Monday, Henderson spoke to the media at the team's base in Kansas City and was glowing when it came to how Bellingham has grown since he handed him his first England cap. 

"I can remember six years ago, I gave him his first cap and how much he has grown as a player and person since then is incredible really," Henderson said.

"I had a good idea when I first saw him playing and training and the way he was. What he has done so far at such a young age, I think everybody forgets how young he is, even me sometimes."

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Henderson then focused on the media attention surrounding Bellingham and how at times, he finds it difficult to digest. 

"I know a lot gets written in the media, I find it hard to read sometimes really because I just know just how big an influence he is on this team, how good a team-mate he is off the field.

"I do think that a lot of the media and the stuff that gets written isn't all true to be honest, a lot of it is actually untrue.

"For us, we know what he can do and we all love him inside the camp, and I suppose that's the main thing."

Bellingham already proving an inspiration to fellow England players

Bellingham may only be 22 years old, but already, he is proving to have leadership qualities as an England international. 

Following the 1-0 warm-up win over New Zealand, Bellingham gave 17-year-old Rio Ngumoah his England legacy cap, and then followed this up with a speech which was published on social media, giving fans a unique insight to how Bellingham conducts himself. 

He then continued this leadership role against Costa Rica, offering support to Noni Madueke after he missed an easy one-on-one chance. 

There is already a mature set of shoulders on Bellingham who sees himself as the player to carry England forward for years to come, and no doubt this will have been influenced by seeing how Henderson operates when they shared the dressing room for his international debut.

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