Published 02 July 2021 2 min read
England Men's Senior Team
Hendo on Ukraine threat
Jordan Henderson joins the podcast before leaving for Rome
Jordan Henderson isn’t underestimating the threat of Ukraine as England prepare to play their first game on foreign soil.
Ranked 24th in the world the Ukranians weren’t obvious contenders for a spot in the quarter-finals coming into the tournament but they’ve more than shown their worth so far.
Spain and Portugal have both suffered defeats at the hands of Andriy Shevchenko’s men in the last two years while reigning world champions France were also held to a 1-1 draw back in March.
And Henderson is well aware that the clash in Rome on Saturday will be no walk in the park.
“You can’t underestimate the importance of this game and how good of a team Ukraine are and how tough it will be against them,” he said, speaking on the Official England Podcast.
“We are fully aware of that and we just need to go and give absolutely everything and hope that’s enough to get us through.
“There’s no easy game within this tournament and especially at the knockout stages - we’ve seen Ukraine beat Portugal not so long ago so we need to be prepared not only physically but mentally as well.
“It will be a different challenge to what we’ve been used to over the last few weeks at Wembley. There might be less fans in the crowd but we’ve got to try and create our own intensity on the pitch and we just have to go out there and put on a real good performance.”
Ranked 24th in the world the Ukranians weren’t obvious contenders for a spot in the quarter-finals coming into the tournament but they’ve more than shown their worth so far.
Spain and Portugal have both suffered defeats at the hands of Andriy Shevchenko’s men in the last two years while reigning world champions France were also held to a 1-1 draw back in March.
And Henderson is well aware that the clash in Rome on Saturday will be no walk in the park.
“You can’t underestimate the importance of this game and how good of a team Ukraine are and how tough it will be against them,” he said, speaking on the Official England Podcast.
“We are fully aware of that and we just need to go and give absolutely everything and hope that’s enough to get us through.
“There’s no easy game within this tournament and especially at the knockout stages - we’ve seen Ukraine beat Portugal not so long ago so we need to be prepared not only physically but mentally as well.
“It will be a different challenge to what we’ve been used to over the last few weeks at Wembley. There might be less fans in the crowd but we’ve got to try and create our own intensity on the pitch and we just have to go out there and put on a real good performance.”
02 Jul 2021
England on their way
The squad departs for Rome
The 31 year old was a second-half substitute in England’s historic 2-0 win over Germany on Tuesday night but echoed the sentiments of his manager in allaying any premature celebrations.
“I’m probably the biggest party pooper out of everyone to be honest but you do need to make sure you enjoy those moments. After you walk out of the dressing room though, the focus needs to be on the next game though and that is how it will need to be right up until the very end.
“You can’t dwell on anything that has happened and that goes for when a performance hasn’t been that good, you can’t get really low about it. You’ve got to try and keep a balance and focus on what we can control.”
England’s vice-captain is as serious as they come about winning, something he’s proved beyond doubt during his time with Liverpool, but even he has found ways to unwind at St. George’s Park - especially now Love Island is back on our screens.
“We’ve got basketball, table tennis, pool, darts, films on the big screen, and now Love Island has started we’ve got that to watch while we’re getting treatment, so there’s loads to do.
“It’s nice to spend some time together and play games, watch a film or whatever it might be just to get that bonding time in.”
England face Ukraine for a spot in the last-four at 8pm GMT on Saturday July 3.
“I’m probably the biggest party pooper out of everyone to be honest but you do need to make sure you enjoy those moments. After you walk out of the dressing room though, the focus needs to be on the next game though and that is how it will need to be right up until the very end.
“You can’t dwell on anything that has happened and that goes for when a performance hasn’t been that good, you can’t get really low about it. You’ve got to try and keep a balance and focus on what we can control.”
England’s vice-captain is as serious as they come about winning, something he’s proved beyond doubt during his time with Liverpool, but even he has found ways to unwind at St. George’s Park - especially now Love Island is back on our screens.
“We’ve got basketball, table tennis, pool, darts, films on the big screen, and now Love Island has started we’ve got that to watch while we’re getting treatment, so there’s loads to do.
“It’s nice to spend some time together and play games, watch a film or whatever it might be just to get that bonding time in.”
England face Ukraine for a spot in the last-four at 8pm GMT on Saturday July 3.
UKRAINE STAT PACK