Gareth Southgate has revealed that he held Jordan Henderson back for England’s game against Italy after the Liverpool captain was unable to train properly.
Harry Kane became England's all-time record goalscorer as his side beat Roberto Mancini's side 2-1 in their first Euro 2024 qualifier in Naples on Thursday night. It was the first time Southgate’s side had played since their World Cup exit at the hands of France.
West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice opened the scoring from close range after Kane's shot was blocked in the 13th minute. England were then awarded a penalty after Kane's back post header was deemed to have been handled and the Tottenham Hotspur man made no mistake from 12-yards.
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Italy pulled one back through debutant Mateo Retegui just after the interval before Luke Shaw was sent off for two yellow cards with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Henderson was named on the bench for the game with Southgate instead opting for Kalvin Phillips in midfield alongside Rice.
And when discussing the call ahead of the game, Southgate revealed that his decision was as a result of Henderson, who missed Liverpool's Champions League defeat to Real Madrid last week, not being able to take part in full training.
He said: "Hendo was a big part of the midfield in the World Cup but hasn't trained fully over the last week so we're keeping him back.”
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