England missed the leadership qualities of Jordan Henderson in their 1-0 Nations League loss at the hands of Hungary on Saturday evening.
That's the view of former Republic of Ireland international Keith Treacy after the Three Lions struggled to make any real impact against their hosts in their competition opener and suffered a first defeat at the hands of Hungary in over 60 years. They were undone in the 65th minute when substitute Reece James was harshly adjudged to have brought down Zsolt Nagy in the box allowing Dominik Szoboszlai to convert the only goal of the game from the penalty spot.
Liverpool captain Henderson was omitted from the England squad as Gareth Southgate agreed with the 31-year-old to rest him up after a gruelling season for the Reds. But former midfielder Treacy felt the experience of Henderson was a big miss, particularly after England fell behind.
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Speaking after the match on Virgin Media Sport, Treacy said: "I think they missed Henderson, I know Gareth Southgate knew what he was doing leaving him out of the squad, he knows what he can do. But having a leader in there who knows what to do when things aren't going well or it's a little bit flat, having Jordan Henderson in there just to pick people up, grab them by the scruff of the neck and put a bit of impetus into the game.
"There was no leaders in there, Harry Maguire, Harry Kane not really talkers, they inspire by what they do. If they had Henderson in there barking at the lads around him, making sure they're running hard and trying their best, not just going through the motions.
"You can go through a lot of them, Mount, Kane, Bellingham all just going through the motions. That English team that was on the pitch was good enough to beat Hungary but they just didn't apply themselves. Henderson's been around, Champions League finals, if something's not right he'll bring the lads up around him. Missing a leader that is quite a big deal."
Henderson's Liverpool teammate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, played a wide midfield role for the Three Lions but was withdrawn after 62 minutes, shortly before Hungary took the lead. He will once again be in Southgate's squad when England face Germany in their second Nations League match on Tuesday, June 7 in Munich.
