Jordan Henderson will lead England out against Slovenia on Tuesday with the interim manager, Gareth Southgate, having praised his impact and growing maturity since taking on the unenviable task of succeeding Steven Gerrard as captain at Liverpool.
The midfielder, who impressed against Malta on Saturday, will earn his 30th cap at the Stadion Stozice while the team’s full‑time captain, Wayne Rooney, watches on from the substitutes’ bench. Southgate has praised Rooney’s leadership skills within the setup over the past week and reiterated that the Manchester United player will remain “captain of this team while I am in charge”, but the armband will go to Henderson against the Slovenia team ranked No67 in the world.
The 26-year-old, who will be flanked by Eric Dier as England seek greater defensive surety, was initially appointed captain at Liverpool by Brendan Rodgers at the start of last season and retained the role under Jürgen Klopp over a campaign badly disrupted by injury. Yet any doubts that he did not have the character or drive to make his mark on Merseyside have been allayed by his performances this season, with that form having obviously been noted by Southgate.
Now, if only for one game, he must follow another talismanic performer as he takes over on the pitch. “I’ve been very impressed by him,” the interim manager said. “What stood out for me is that he has taken over as captain at a football club were he has succeeded one of the most iconic figures in English football of all time. He has matured from that. He has shown great leadership skills with his club and is used to being captain, which is important.”
Henderson, despite being handed the armband, was keen to stress Rooney’s importance.
“Wayne is very experienced and, for me, he has been one of the best players in the world for many years,” said Henderson. “He sets an example to all of us on and off the field. He is someone we all look up to as a captain and a leader for his experience and the type of person that he is. He is massive for this team and just because he is not playing tomorrow, it won’t change anything. I am sure people will make a big deal of him not starting but, in football, teams change tactically for different opposition and for different reasons. As I said, this doesn’t change anything for us as a team in terms of Wayne not starting. He is our captain, he leads by example, and he’ll be ready to come on and make an impact when given the opportunity.”
Gary Cahill, the vice-captain under Roy Hodgson, may earn his 50th cap in Slovenia and he, Theo Walcott and Joe Hart have greater experience in terms of appearances among the current squad. Yet none of that trio captains his club side, a factor the manager clearly took into account. “He has got a voice and an opinion within this group too,” Southgate said. “He has got his clear ideas of what we need to work on, and a good tactical mind and understanding. Again, it was not an easy decision as there are other senior players in that dressing room, but he is the captain of a big football club and is used to that responsibility. It was the right decision for me.”
Henderson has also received a glowing report from the man he will replace. “I think Jordan is a fantastic leader,” said Rooney. “He has taken an incredibly difficult job from Steven Gerrard at Liverpool and he’s really grown into the position. He’s a fantastic player with great leadership qualities and he deserves his chance. It will be an incredibly proud moment for him and his family.”
Dier’s involvement, having been rested on Saturday after a minor hamstring complaint, had always been pencilled in, with England braced for a sterner examination than that offered by Malta at Wembley. The Tottenham player has made the defensive-midfield brief his own of late and is likely to sit in front of the back-line alongside Henderson, with his club-mate Danny Rose returning to the starting lineup for the injured Ryan Bertrand.
“I think it’s clear that you are talking about two different profiles of player,” Southgate said when asked if Dier was a straight replacement for Rooney. “They have different attributes. That’s the basis of the decision. As a coach you have to look at the right setup for that game. I knew with this situation that obviously the news would leak. It was pretty obvious that Eric would come into the game.”
