Jordan Henderson’s England recall is a “great move” and the 34-year-old brings a “winning mentality” to the squad, says goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Ajax midfielder Henderson was called up for the first time since November 2023 when new manager Thomas Tuchel named him in his first England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia. Henderson won the first of his 81 caps in 2010 under Fabio Capello, and Tuchel has said the former Liverpool skipper “embodies everything we try to build”. Pickford knows Henderson well as they were both at Sunderland in the early stage of their careers, as well as being part of the England sides that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, the Euro 2020 final and the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. And Pickford thinks the call-up of Henderson and Newcastle defender Dan Burn will help the squad as they prepare to try to win the World Cup in 2026. “We’ve been knocking on the door for a while now. We’ve been to two finals, a semi-final and a quarter final,” the goalkeeper said. “It’s about that next step now. We know what it takes to get there. It’s about what it takes to lift the trophy, and that is what the manager has come in to do,” Pickford said. “We have got Dan Burn’s first call-up which is a great achievement for him. We have got Hendo with how many caps he has got. He has got that winning mentality, what he has won at Liverpool as a player and a captain. To have those leaders around the place, the more leaders you have in the team I think the more success they will bring. They will drive training standards, they will drive standards around the place and make it a better camp for everybody.”
Source link
