‘The best person I’ve come across in football’: England stars hail Henderson | OneFootball

Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers have praised Brentford midfielder Jordan Henderson’s influence inside the England camp ahead of the Three Lions’ 2026 FIFA World Cup opener against Croatia (9pm kick-off BST).

England begin their Group L campaign on Wednesday 17 June, with Henderson part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the tournament in North America.

Speaking on England's Lions’ Den, Bellingham and Rogers discussed Henderson’s importance to the group.

“Don't get us started on Hendo, we could talk about him for hours,” Bellingham said. “He's so funny, the funniest guy in this camp. He gets everyone laughing, and he gets everyone together.

“If there’s a problem between two people, he’ll bring them together. He’s that kind of person who even the staff will go to him to sort out issues.

“He’s got no ego when it comes to supporting the team. He’s a Premier League and Champions League-winning captain, and he was doing the sets for the finishing. He doesn’t have to do stuff like that; he doesn’t have to be that humble.

“Every day he’s relentless in training, pushing everyone to be better.”

Rogers was equally complimentary of Henderson, who played 32 games for Brentford in the Premier League last season, scoring once and assisting three times.

“The best guy I’ve ever come across in football,” said the Aston Villa forward. “If people did a blind ranking of people they want at the camp beforehand, he’d be in everyone’s top five.

“He’s big for us two as well,” added Rogers. “We’re both emotional. I was annoyed the chances weren’t coming off and I’ll give him one look in the face, and he’ll let you know. Then, you’re just in a happy mood!

“That's just the way he is; he has that persona and that character.”

Bellingham continued: “He’s got a line for everything, every situation. If you need cheering up, he’ll have a perfect line. If there’s a bit of banter going around, he’ll say something and have the whole room cracking up.

“He’ll be there to make sure that that person pushes the standard to reach the level that he thinks we should be at.

“Like Morg said, the best person I’ve ever come across in football and probably the biggest leader as well.”

England face Croatia at New York New Jersey Stadium on Wednesday 17 June, before continuing their Group L campaign against Ghana and Panama.