Jude Bellingham demanded his England teammate Jordan Henderson be given more respect.
The midfielders were on top form as the Three Lions booked their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The Liverpool midfielder scored England’s first, set up by the 19-year-old, as they went on to win 3-0 in the last-16 clash.
The pair then celebrated together and clearly have developed a strong bond and partnership in that midfield.
Although Henderson is hugely decorated at club level, captaining Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League success, he has had plenty of critics.
Bellingham hit out at the negative comments surrounding his teammate and posted a message on Twitter that read: “Put some respect on his name.”
Speaking to ITV after the game, Bellingham added: “[It was a] Brilliant performance and I seen some of the rubbish that was said about him playing. It’s ridiculous, [Henderson is] so underrated technically and he’s delivered in a big game with a massive game so I think it’s about time he gets respect.”
England legend Stuart Pearce, who coached him at Under-21 level, said that every team needs a player like Henderson.
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He told talkSPORT: “I’ve never understood it. This kid was my Under-21 captain back in 2011 and I saw the leadership.
“I was fortunate enough to be at West Ham during the Covid situation when there was nobody in the stadiums and you could hear every word going on on the pitch.
“Jordan Henderson was out there cajoling people, coaching them, leading them and this is him playing for Liverpool.
“This kid is something different. He’s a team player, he does all the dirty things. We continually in football, well football fans do, say ‘what’s he doing in the team’. He’s not pretty and doesn’t have the technical skills of Grealish and we want Greailsh and Maddison in.
“You need a Jordan Henderson in every team. He knits it together on and off the training pitch.”
England go on to play France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday at 7pm.
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