JAKARTA - England coach Thomas Tuchel defended his decision to elect midfielder Jordan Henderson in his first squad. He said the former Liverpool captain was important to the team's culture.
Henderson, who has played 81 times for the Three Lions, has become a controversial British flagship under previous boss Gareth Southgate.
However, he found himself out of the team in the last 12 months after playing in the Saudi Arabian Pro League and now in Eredivisie with Ajax Amsterdam.
Tuchel made a surprising decision by recalling Henderson for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
"He realized everything. He is the winner of the chain, personality and character."
"He is the glue in every team he has ever defended, the glue that makes everything special."
"I'm sure. If a teacher at school believes in class quality, class character, it's better than the other way around," Tuchel told ITV.
SEE ALSO:
-
| OLAHRAGA
PSSI Sediakan 3 Ribu Tiket Tamu, Suporter Bahrain Pilih Tak Ambil Jatah
19 Maret 2025, 21:20
Tuchel said he initially had no plans to call Henderson, but decided to do so after speaking with players, coaches, and other staff at the English Football Association (FA).
England will face Albania at Wembley on Saturday, March 22, 2025, early morning WIB, before hosting Latvia on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, early morning WIB.
Tuchel and his team will hope to make a positive start in Group K of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, which also contains Serbia and Andorra.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
