KANSAS CITY— Jude Bellingham can be England’s “X factor” at the World Cup as Thomas Tuchel’s men chase a first major trophy for 60 years, Jordan Henderson said.
England is among the favourites for the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States after a string of near-misses at recent European Championships and World Cups.
Henderson, speaking at England’s Kansas City base, tipped fellow midfielder Bellingham, 22, to have a “big impact” over the next few weeks despite an injury-hit season.
The former Liverpool captain said the Real Madrid star had made huge progress since his international debut as a 17-year-old in 2020.
“How much he’s grown as a player and as a person since then is incredible, really,” said Henderson according to AFP.
“I had a good idea when I first saw him playing and training and the way he was. But what he’s done so far at such a young age, I think everybody forgets how young he is, even me really sometimes.”
The Brentford player added: “I honestly couldn’t speak highly enough of him. I know a lot gets written in the media. I find it hard to read sometimes, really, because I just know how big an influence he is on this team, how good a teammate he is off the field.
“And what he gives us is just something really special, really. I think he really gives us the X factor in our team.
“He’s had big moments in his career. He’s a big-game player. He’s got experience in tournaments. So he’s a huge, huge player for us in this tournament.”
Henderson, speaking a day after England arrived at their World Cup base in the Midwest, also spoke highly of Tuchel.
The German, who has managed a string of top clubs including Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, took charge at the beginning of last year with a brief to win England’s first World Cup since 1966.
“I feel as though in the space of maybe just over a year, year-and-a-half he’s changed quite a bit to be honest and created a really good environment, really good culture with the group,” said Henderson.
“But then it’s up to the players to then lead that and take that forward, which I feel as though we have done and it’s just about building that now.
“We’ve got a lot in the bank, how well we’ve worked over the past year or so to get to this point.”
England face a stiff test against Croatia in their Group L opener in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, before matches against Ghana and Panama.
Henderson, 35, picked out the threat of fellow veteran Luka Modric, who is 40.
“For me, he’s probably the best I’ve played against in my career midfield-wise,” he said of the AC Milan man. “I think his career speaks for itself.
“I think he’s a top world-class player, so hard to play against… I’m a big, big fan of his and hopefully he doesn’t perform as well as we know he can against us.”
