Everton ace Andros Townsend raves about Liverpool star Jordan Henderson
Andros Townsend has highlighted Jordan Henderson’s influence for England as the Everton winger predicts a “big” performance from Gareth Southgate’s side against France.
Henderson scored for the Three Lions in their round of 16 victory over Senegal and has been in good form since returning to the side.
Townsend is a fan of the Liverpool midfielder’s ability to arrive late into the box and believes England can produce a “landmark” victory against Didier Deschamps’ men.
“I’ve talked about players France have but don’t forget we have Harry Kane, who can drop deep and allow Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka to get in behind,” said Townsend (The Daily Mirror, 9 December, page 63).
“We have Jude Bellingham who can pick a pass from anywhere, and we have Jordan Henderson, who can arrive late into the box. So I’m expecting a big performance and a special game. I am crossing my fingers that it will be a landmark one.”
Huge
The European Championship final was a huge fixture for a number of the England squad, but this game against France does feel a little bit different. In 2021, there wasn’t an expectation for the Three Lions to win the championships at the start of the tournament.
However, there’s a growing feeling amongst fans, the media and the players that they have a genuine chance of lifting the World Cup in Qatar, and that France are probably the biggest threat to their chances. If Southgate’s side can overcome their next challenge, then there’s every chance they could go on to reach the final at the bare minimum.
Jordan Pickford will be relishing the chance to show he’s the man for the big occasion. He has never left England down and he will need to be at his very best to stop the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele on Saturday evening (10 December).
If the game goes all the way to penalties, the Everton keeper will fancy his chances having been involved in England’s last World Cup shootout win against Colombia. Glenn Hoddle has even suggested that Pickford should be one of the five asked to take a spot-kick (Betfair Twitter account, 8 December).