Football England focused on last 16 after winning group - Henderson
JORDAN Henderson insists England’s Euro 2020 group-stage performance was “very positive” as the Three Lions advanced with little fanfare.
A drab goalless draw with Scotland was sandwiched between 1-0 wins over Group D rivals Croatia and the Czech Republic.
Qualification into the round of 16 was already secured before Raheem Sterling’s header proved enough for victory over the Czechs at Wembley on Tuesday night.
Gareth Southgate’s side advance as pool winners as a result, despite having scored just twice in their three games.
The performances may not have been as eye-catching as some of the pre-tournament favourites but Henderson - who played his first 45 minutes of the finals having come on at half-time against the Czechs - believes England have plenty of reasons to be cheerful. The Liverpool captain told beIN Sports: “It is very positive. We have won the group. Our objective was to qualify, defensively we have looked solid with the clean sheets.
“We would like to have scored more goals, of course, but overall I think we have got to be pleased and look forward to the next round.
“When you get to the last 16 it is always going to be tough, always going to be a good team. We just need to be focused on ourselves, be ready and go out there and get a good result.”
Henderson was included in Southgate’s 26-man squad for the Euros despite not having featured for his club since February. Southgate said it would be a “bonus” to be to use the 31-year-old during the finals and his second-half display
could yet see the midfielder start the round-of-16 fixture next week.
“I’m delighted to be back on the pitch, it has been a while,” he added. “Delighted to be back, delighted to get three points and to win the group.”
Meanwhile, Steve Clarke admits Scotland have to improve “in every department” after exiting Euro 2020 with a 3-1 defeat to Croatia on Tuesday night. Following a 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic in their opening Group D game at Hampden Park and a goalless draw against England at Wembley, the Scots returned to Glasgow needing any kind of win to take them into the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time in their history. It was not to be.
Clarke’s side finished bottom of the section with just one point and no goals from strikers Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams and Kevin Nisbet but the head coach insists improvement is required all over the pitch, although he insists progress has been made during his tenure.
The former West Brom and Kilmarnock boss said: “When you look across the tournament we certainly had enough shots, we created enough chances. It is something that we have to work on. But the players will get better and better at it. Lyndon’s a relatively new international player, Che Adams is the same, so we can improve on it.
“Kevin Nisbet will get better the more he’s involved and we’ve got players who can score goals from midfield.”
He added: “Listen, we have to get better at everything, we also conceded a number of goals in the tournament that I think were preventable. We have to get better in every department.
“But we have improved a lot over the two years I have been head coach, that’s my belief.
“Other people might disagree but I think we have improved a lot and what we have to do is we have to keep improving.”