Gareth Southgate cannot understand why fans turned on Jordan Henderson after the long-serving England vice-captain was booed off against Australia at Wembley.
Eyebrows were raised when the 33-year-old swapped his role as Liverpool skipper for the Saudi Pro League, joining Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in a controversial £12million deal.
Henderson had been a high-profile supporter of LGBTQ+ rights during his time at Anfield and last month apologised for any hurt he caused by moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal.
There was no noticeable negative reaction towards him during September’s doubleheader against Ukraine and Scotland, but things were different in England’s first home match since his controversial move.
There were murmurs when Henderson’s named was read out before Friday’s 1-0 friendly win against Australia at sold-out Wembley, where he was jeered by some fans when replaced in the second half.
“I really don’t understand it,” Southgate said of the reaction. “He’s a player who I think has 79 caps now for England.
“His commitment and what he has delivered for England is exceptional.
“His role within the group on and off the pitch is phenomenally important.
“He’s the one that has taken the likes of Jude Bellingham under his wing as soon as he came in the squad, provides a brilliant role model for all of the group in his professionalism and his approach to every part of his work.
“Some people decided to boo. I really don’t understand what that is for.
“We’ve got players in England shirts. Yeah, come on, we play Italy on Tuesday (in a key Euro 2024 qualifier). Let’s get behind this team.
“I know we weren’t at our best tonight but that was due to a lot of changes we made and we gave the players out there a difficult task because to be cohesive with so many changes is tough.
“But I would just say that this is a team that are delivering a lot and they all deserve everybody’s support.”
Speaking upon calling up Henderson for September’s fixtures, Southgate said “I don’t really know why a player would receive an adverse reaction because of where he plays.”
Asked if perhaps the player’s recent promotion of Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid might have had an impact, Southgate said: “What has that got to do with supporting a guy wearing an England shirt?”
Put to him that England fans may not agree with Henderson’s principles, he said: “Well, yeah, I don’t really know where we are heading with everything.
“I’m hugely impressed with the impeccable values and decisions that everybody in our country is making then.
“Yeah, clearly, I don’t understand it. I know what’s created it and I know why it has happened, but it defies logic to me that you would give a player who is playing and putting his heart and soul into playing for England… why boo him?
“How is that going to help him or help the team?”
Southgate was later quizzed about his comments relating to what created the reception, only to respond “there’s nothing to gained by going over it, really”.
The England manager was heard loud and clear in the post-match press conference, but the same could not be said for counterpart Graham Arnold.
The passionate Australia boss lost his voice on a night when his side pushed England close, only to lose to returning Ollie Watkins’ 57th-minute effort.
Arnold’s assistant Rene Meulensteen instead faced the media and was asked if it felt like a missed opportunity given the Socceroos’ performance under the arch.
“Yeah, I think so,” the former Manchester United coach said.
“Having said that, I think we’d be very, very proud of this performance.
“Sometimes in football you play games and the results are not going for you, then you try to look for what the causes are.
“But this, I think, is one of those losses where you can be really, really proud of the performance.
“I mean, we played against a very strong nation.
“They’ve obviously got a very big game coming up in a few days against Italy as we all know but they can field two world-class teams, without a shadow of a doubt.”
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
