Rooney shocks Lineker as he says he would've picked Henderson for England squad (2024)

Gary Lineker's eyebrows were raised when Wayne Rooney said he would've picked Jordan Henderson in England's Euro 2024 squad.

Inquests are already beginning away from the England camp due to the team's limp start to the tournament which has seen them edge past Serbia and draw to Denmark.

While England sit top of Group C and are in a great position to advance to the knockout stage, it's the performance level in both games which has been a major cause for concern among fans.

Pre-tournament, Gareth Southgate was commended for his bravery in his squad selection with high-profile players Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford, who had tough seasons at Manchester City and Manchester United respectively, being left out.

A lack of creativity for England has opened up the argument that perhaps Southgate has picked too inexperienced a squad, and Rooney believes another star was overlooked in Henderson.

Rooney suggested the ex-Liverpool captain's vocal nature would compliment Harry Kane's more subtle leadership style and lead to better results on the pitch for England.

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"You want to go and press the ball, you need voices behind," Rooney told BBC Sport.

"So Harry needs voices behind to tell them to keep it one way and obviously what you've worked on.

"And I said before the tournament, I think I would have taken Jordan him because you haven't got that experience in the middle of the pitch.

"But he's also a voice. Harry's not the most vocal, and he doesn't speak as much as he probably should.

"But I think just having Jordan Henderson there... a bit more bit of experience in there and a voice around the camp because they are very inexperienced."

It's a call that shocked former England striker Lineker, who was seen raising his eyebrows as well as being heard saying, 'really?' when Rooney was explaining why Henderson should've been picked.

Henderson didn't even make Southgate's provisional 33-man squad following his nightmare 2023/24 season.

The Sunderland-born midfielder left Liverpool last summer after 12 years of service for a highly lucrative move to Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.

However, he tore up his contract with them less than six months later to join Ajax - and didn't even bank a penny of the massive wages he was due to get with Al Ettifaq.

Amid England's faltering campaign in Germany, Declan Rice admitted he and the squad are feeling the pressure from outside more than ever.

“I think there is probably more pressure now from the outside just because of the seasons some of our players have had,” the Arsenal midfielder said told The Athletic.

“If you look at the goals that our front four have scored this year, it’s over a hundred between them.

“Of course there is expectation because they are the best players in the world. And that goes for everyone throughout the team. There’s going to be that pressure. This is England, major tournament.

“But look, this is our job and this is what we have to deal with. At the end of the day it’s us, we’ve played in high pressure games, high pressure environments. It’s all about us on the pitch to be able to get it done.

“I think as a group, even just speaking after (the Denmark match) as a team, we know we can be collectively better and we’ll review it again and be ready for the next one.”

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England go into their final group match against Slovenia on Tuesday night knowing a win will guarantee them top spot, while a draw will be enough to stay top should Denmark fail to beat Serbia.

A defeat is likely to also be enough for England to qualify, be it in second or third spot.

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