Jordan Henderson would have every right to feel aggrieved that he has not yet won a place for England at Euro 2020.
Sure, he came into the tournament with little playing time and hadn’t played since February after undergoing groin surgery, but, a month after that controversial comeback against Romania, he’s fine and truly back now.
Fans and pundits doubted his inclusion in the Three Lions squad before the tournament, insisting he was not fit enough despite repeated claims by Gareth Southgate about his importance.
Well, they no longer hesitate.
England have reached the final of Euro 2020, their first appearance in a grand final since 1966, and it would not have been possible without the Liverpool captain.
Having captained the Reds to Premier League and Champions League glory, he is a man who has thrived in such high-profile conditions throughout his career.
However, that experience was not enough to tempt Southgate to start it against Denmark as they kept faith in West Ham’s Declan Rice and Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips.
Such a decision was to be expected – after all, he was left out of the first two games against Croatia and Scotland while Southgate controlled his fitness, and has yet to start for his country in the Euro.
However, without him early on, the Three Lions still hadn’t conceded a goal in the tournament leading up to the semi-final. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
However, that decision almost proved costly as England limped for 90 minutes against the Danes with Rice and Phillips fighting.
Introduced belatedly early in overtime, there wasn’t going to be more than his first international goal this weekend, but Henderson had an instant impact to take control of midfield.
Wasting no time barking orders to his teammates, he repeatedly advanced with dangerous overlapping runs as England searched for a winner.
Then when Harry Kane threw the Three Lions ahead, he sat down and made sure Southgate’s team watched the game.
While he did against the Czech Republic, Germany and Ukraine.
