John Terry calls out 'weird' FA decision in scathing rant ahead of England World Cup opener
Former England captain John Terry has called out the FA for seemingly putting Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers up to praise Jordan Henderson following Thomas Tuchel’s controversial decision to include the Brentford midfielder in his 26-man World Cup squad.
Terry, who made 78 appearances for England between 2003 and 2012, did not hold back during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, ripping into the FA for putting Bellingham and Rogers up to do a “PR job”.
The current England stars appeared on England’s Lions Den podcast, which was released on June 12, and took the opportunity to praise Henderson, who could appear at his fourth World Cup should he feature at the tournament.
Henderson’s inclusion was questioned by many, as fellow midfielders Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton and Morgan Gibbs-White were left out by Tuchel.
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But it appears Henderson is a popular member of the Three Lions camp, with Bellingham saying: “Don't get us started on [Jordan] Hendo, we could talk about him for hours. He's so funny, the funniest guy in camp. He gets everyone laughing, and he gets everyone together.”
Reacting to the interview, former Three Lions defender Terry believes “it was a bit weird” for the FA to release the content.
“I don't think it's for them to talk about, but I felt like the FA were kind of addressing something that everyone's been talking about,” Terry said.
“I've got Jordan Henderson's back on this 100 per cent. I don't know Jordan too well, but from what I see from him, he's a top, top player.
“Is he going to start? No, he's not. But I feel he plays a big part in this World Cup for us late in games with the experience he's got.”
Terry questions Tuchel's World Cup squad selection
The former Chelsea defender did not stop there, later explaining his disappointment at the omission of experienced players Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire.
“I was disappointed in the decision to leave out two experienced players, Maguire and Shaw,” Terry added.
“You look at (John) Stones coming in. He will put pressure on Tuchel because of how well he plays, and possibly now Stones starts. But there are other players in this group and I'm not sure whether they do that.
“Jordan Henderson is 100 per cent that player for us. He's brave, he'll come on for the last 15 or 20 minutes. I think he's got a big role to play.”
Terry’s comments come on the eve of England’s Group L opener against Croatia in Arlington.
Although Henderson is in the squad, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson are expected to start in midfield, with either Rogers or Bellingham ahead of them in the No. 10 role.
After the Croatia clash, England face Ghana in Foxborough on June 23 before finishing their group-stage campaign against Panama in New Jersey on June 27.
Luke Davies