Jordan Henderson was booed by a small group at the Wembley Stadium as he was being substituted for Kalvin Phillips in the second half.
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England had to work extremely hard to get a narrow 1-0 win over Australia in their recent international friendly. With that game happening before the all-important Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, Gareth Southgate had made plenty of changes to the Starting XI. Since regular skipper Harry Kane did not start in that fixture, former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson captained the side on Friday night against Australia.
However, the main talking point happened when Jordan Henderson was booed by a small group at the Wembley Stadium as he was being substituted for Kalvin Phillips in the second half. After the match, Henderson, who left Liverpool to join Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq in the last window, was informed of the boos. Responding to it, Henderson, quoted by skysports.com, said, “Everybody has got their own opinion. I love playing for England, I have done for many years, that’s why I’m still here. I still want to play for England for as long as I possibly can and give everything for the team, for my country.”
He added: “To lead the team out tonight means an awful lot to me and my family. Another special night and we got the win which is the most important thing. It’s not nice, your own fans, if they were booing. But listen, people have got their own opinions. Whenever I bump into anyone on the street it’s always been positive stuff and nice things said. But listen, it won’t change who I am and what I do for this team and for my country. I give absolutely everything every time.”
Due to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, some sections of the people criticised Henderson when he joined the Saudi Pro League side. When he was informed that boos might be in relation to his move to Saudi Arabia, the midfielder replied, “Yeah, so… if people want to boo if I’m playing in a different country, that’s fine. Like I said, everyone is going to have an opinion over when I’m playing over in Saudi.”
He further added: “I’ve spoken in the past about the reasons for that. Whether people believe us or not is up to them. But when I’m here with England, it doesn’t change anything. I give absolutely everything. Of course it’s disappointing, but it won’t change what I do here. I want to keep playing and keep fighting and help the team become successful.”
However, the one person who has always stood by Henderson is Gareth Southgate. The head coach had extended his support to the former Liverpool midfielder even after the Australia fixture. Reacting to it, Henderson said, “The gaffer has been really good as always, to be honest, I’ve always felt support and backing from him and the rest of the lads to be fair. So it’s nice to know that you’ve got the backing of the manager and your team-mates but that’s never been in doubt for me. That’s always been the case.”
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