Psychologist Explains the Power of Hendo

A few eyebrows were raised among England fans when they saw Jordan Henderson on the 26-man list for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Gareth Southgate may not be the biggest enthusiast of Trent Alexander-Arnolds’ abilities, but he was spot-on with the inclusion of the Reds’ skipper in the middle of the park.

The Three Lions failed to take control of the centre area of the pitch against the USA. Mason Mount had a game to forget, unlike the majority of his struggling teammates. Southgate had to make a brave call, and so did he – by replacing Chelsea attacking midfielder with more defensive-minded one. It paid off.

Henderson’s contribution in the middle of the park was explicit. Minute by minute, he was imposing himself more and more, proving doubters wrong, while keeping his place in the first team for following the clashes (Senegal and France).

The intriguing fact is that he didn’t complete any passes that travelled more than 40 yards of the width of the pitch through all the fixtures with his involvement (USA, Wales, Senegal, France) – that’s according to FBref. The majority of his pass types were those live ones, which he created 153 across 271 minutes.

Putting the statistics aside, there’s something like gold dust, the skipper offers. The special attribute is his lucidity and attention.

A psychologist, Geir Jordet who spent five years studying World Cup penalty shootout connect Henderson’s approach to Kane’s successful penalty.

The last four of England’s World Cup journey in Qatar ended in a miserable fashion. The Three Lions bowed out of the tournament. That day, Tottenham’s striker was presented with two spot-kicks, however, converted just one of them. The another, unsuccessful one was like gold dust – had it been hit home, the game would have been level.

Here comes Geir Jordet with a fantastic explanation of this situation. According to the psychologist “A penalty kick is not just an individual task. Team members can help, assist and suport”.

In other words, taking a penalty is an effort of the whole team, in which the suport of your team-mates is crucial.

His study is eye-opening. He’s analysed the penalty spots taking into consideration Harry Kane’s comfort zone and the presence of Henderson.

As the Norwegian described on Twitter, for England’s first penalty Kane was assisted and protected from distractions and „mind games” by his teammate. As a consequence, the English striker could concentrate on the 12-yard shoot before taking it.

First, he checked the ball, then handed it to Kane, then walked with the shooter to the penalty area, keeping him away from French players.

Details are crucial in life, aren’t they? For Kane and England, it worked – Tottenham striker took his chance and slot the ball home.

The psychologist states, Henderson behaves like that every day when playing for Liverpool.

Later in the match, England were assigned another spot-kick following a VAR check. The situation with Kane and penalty kick here, showed Southgate why he shouldn’t have taken the 32-year-old presence on the pitch for granted.

The psychologist noticed that for 30 seconds after the VAR’s review, Harry Kane was alone with a company of only French players. After 30 seconds, we finally saw slow-off-the-mark reaction.

Two England players rushed to the striker, pushed the French out of the penalty area, but it might have been too late – Harry Kane mishit and England were coming home.

Jordet was right. At Liverpool, the midfielder presents the same features. He doesn’t switch off, instead, keeps both feet on the ground, and his quick-thinking allows to react immediately.

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