World Cup 2018: 6 England Players Whose Stock Rose (And 3 Whose Dropped)

Over the last season or two in particular, Jordan Henderson has received a lot of criticism not only from neutral and rival fans, but even from his own supporters as well. Often seen as a negative player, happy to just pass the ball backwards rather than risk a forward ball, Henderson stepped up his game in Russia and cemented his place ahead of Eric Dier in the midfield pecking order.

The Liverpool captain didn't need an armband to lead on the pitch, played more positively than we have seen from him recently, and operated as England's engine not only going forward, but defensively as well.

After missing his penalty against Colombia, it would have been easy for Henderson to lose every shred of confidence he had built up through the previous games, but he refused to let it get the better of him, and he continued his solid performances right the way to the end of the tournament.

This may have been a different story had his fellow Mackem Jordan Pickford not stopped Carlos Bacca's penalty, saving Henderson from becoming the England pariah much like Gareth Southgate did all those years ago.