PERHAPS Thomas Tuchel was looking for maturity and experience when he handed Jordan Henderson a shock England recall in his first squad as Three Lions boss.
That’s the same Ajax captain Henderson who missed Thursday’s nights Europa League thrashing by Eintracht Frankfurt through suspension after telling a referee to “f*** off”.
GettyThomas Tuchel has named is first England squad[/caption]
GettyAjax captain Jordan Henderson is a shock inclusion[/caption]
Or perhaps it was Henderson’s dedication to the England cause which inspired Tuchel.
That’s the same Henderson who appeared to give up on his country by making a shock move to Saudi club Al Ettifaq when leaving Liverpool in 2023 taking the money rather than continuing in elite football.
That Saudi experiment lasted just six months before Henderson headed to Amsterdam – where he has been frequently criticised in the Dutch media for a salary which hasn’t been matched by performance levels.
Henderson is 34 and will be 36 by the time of next year’s World Cup in the United States so this is hardly one for the future from Tuchel – who is only like to be in post as England boss until next summer.
The new boss has shown short-term thinking by selecting Henderson, as well as veteran right-back Kyle Walker – on loan at AC Milan from Manchester City, where his form fell of a cliff earlier this season.
Even Dan Burn, one of two uncapped players in Tuchel’s squad for home World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia, is 32.
But Henderson’s inclusion in a 26-man squad is perhaps the most surprising of the lot.
Henderson has won 81 caps, the last of which came against Malta in November 2023, when Gareth Southgate surprisingly included him despite that controversial move to Saudi.
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He was not involved with England in 2024, missing last summer’s Euros, along with Marcus Rashford – another surprise inclusion from Tuchel.
The former Liverpool skipper has benefitted from an injury to Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo to earn his call-up.
But Henderson’s inclusion is proof positive that Tuchel will rely on experience rather than youth in his short-term mission of attempting to win England a second World Cup.
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