Moscow, June 22: As England beat Tunisia with a late Harry Kane header, their ability to keep cool near the end and snatch the victory has earned a lot of praise. It seemed from the outside that England captain had dragged his team home but there were many more positives Gareth Southgate will take from this game and one of them will be Jordan Henderson’s performance.

Many saw Henderson as a classic English midfield hardworker, a flushed and barking ghost of past tournament failures. In such circles, the Liverpool captain is still seen as a low grade hustler, a sub-thoroughbred who has often been present in England’s recent moments of epic disarray.

Before Monday, Henderson’s tournament record read: played 5 won 0. He was there in Italy in Kiev 2012, when Andre Pirlo ran riot across the English midfield. He was there in defeat against Uruguay in Sao Paulo in 2014. He was there on the bench in the brain freeze against Iceland in Euro 2016.

But in England’s 3-1-2-2-1 formation the midfield pivot is crucial. He has to keep working consistently and maintain the rhythm of the game to keep the cogs whizzing around. Henderson suits this position. Under Jurgen Klopp, his workrate has been excellent for Liverpool while his reading of the game has been improved. In Volgograd, Henderson had more passes and more touches than any other midfielder and dictated the game's tempo.

In the first half when England attacked with zing, Henderson took positions behind the front four and sprayed the ball for the strikers. He even put in early and long crosses from deep midfield for the wingbacks, notably for Keiran Trippier. Also, he maintained possession well which kept Tunisia pinned back.

In the second half though things changed, Tunisia, now back on level terms, changed their shape, closely marking Henderson and blocking the spaces which he was occupying. England’s attack seemed to lack the earlier threat. The fans feared the ghosts of the 2016 draw with Slovakia were coming back.

💪🏻👊🏻@Maximuscle pic.twitter.com/HaQrzo5yxo

— Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson) January 24, 2018

Then as Tunisia won a freekick, Henderson seemed to pick up a fight with one of the opposition players, it was boorish stuff but enough to raise his team's spirits. Near the end, England’s No 8 seemed to run into dead ends, but his energy kept driving the team.

BBC pundits Alan Shearer and Gary Neville pointed out how Henderson was involved in most of the positive things England did on the pitch. But they also said that bigger challenges were to come for the Three Lions and Southgate will need to adapt to achieve success.

Adaptability is what Henderson brings to the table, which is probably the reason he was chosen ahead of Eric Dier. Dier has a more defensive outlook and does not have Henderson’s passing ability. Under Klopp, he has played as a box-to-box midfielder, as an anchor and also as a creative force. He also has enough big game experience, being a constant in Liverpool's run to the Champions league final.