A young England team – despite the presence of Harry Kane and Harry Maguire – had lost its way, lacking a leader as the USA chased it to a hole at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Jordain Henderson, the Liverpool captain, was introduced, replacing Jude Bellingham, in the 68th minute to bring in a bit of discipline, structure and leadership to this England team that looked certain to be overrun by the storm USA was brewing.
Henderson, immediately, took his team to task; had a quite word – first with Kane and then Bukayo Saka – and was vocal and demonstrative in the middle to bring in some much-needed energy to England’s game. England improved, chances came but not the goal and the deadlock was never broken.
“We are a little bit disappointed that we didn’t create a bit more, but it’s still positive that we defended well and kept a clean sheet, which is always important in football. So overall it’s not doom and gloom,” Henderson said after the game.
The veteran was happy to have his first playing minutes in the World Cup and is relishing his role as a leader of these young boys even when not playing regularly. “It’s not the result we wanted, but nice to get on from a personal point of view to get cracking and try to create a bit of intensity in the game,” he said. “As a team, you’ve got to stay together as a group. And if you’re not starting, you need to be ready for when the call comes.”
A trusted ally of Southgate, Henderson is more than a player to this team, helping the coaching staff with his input whenever needed and has his thinking cap on even when sitting on the bench. “You’re just trying to analyse the game where we can be better where we can improve, where the spaces are, how we can press better, and a lot of other things,” he said about his view from the English bench. “And then when you come on you try and make an impact and do the things that that we need to do to try and win the game for Gareth.”
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Despite having many youngsters on the team, Henderson feels this England team has the experience to travel further in this World Cup despite the blip against the USA.
“A lot of the younger players in the team have played in big games. They still got big experience whether it’s club football or international football. We have a lot of experience and knowledge within the team. We’ve got some experienced players and we’ve got more young players, but the mixture is good, and all the focus is on the next game, and we will try to perform as best as we can,” he said.
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