JORDAN’S SET FOR A BATTLE

JORDAN HENDERSON has warned Panama they won’t kick England off the park when the two sides meet in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday.

The Central Americans picked up five yellow cards on their World Cup debut as they lost 3-0 to Belgium on Monday.

That’s more than any side has picked up in a single game since Holland in the 2010 final.

And Panama coach Hernan Dario Gomes is unapologetic about his side’s roughhouse tactics saying: “They are strong men and sometimes our players look a bit tough.”

That won’t intimidate England, according to Henderson, who insists domestic football prepares them for such battles.

“I think the lads will be used to the physical side of things from playing in the Premier League,” he said.

“The games we play each week are usually physical and I think that is something the team enjoys.

“Tunisia were quite like that as well. There were quite a lot of fouls in the middle of the pitch.

Tough

“I am sure Panama will be similar and they will try and make it difficult for us.

“It is another tough test. But we have a lot of big lads in the team who will look forward to the physical side of things.

“We will match them physically. That is what is good about this team. We have that side to us and we also have the creative side you saw the other night.”

Gareth Southgate has adopted a system with just one deeplying midfielder.

He played that formation in the pre-World Cup friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica, continued with it on Monday night and won’t change it against opponents ranked 55th in the world.

Henderson got the nod over Tottenham’s Eric Dier for the pivot role and believes it is working well.

He added: “It’s not too dissimilar to what I have been doing for Liverpool really, except obviously it was a three-man defence.

“I felt I could have done certain things better but overall I felt I protected the team and we weren’t really caught out on the counterattack, which is important in that formation.

“But it was about the team, not me.”

Victory in Nizhny Novgorod, a city 250 miles east of Moscow, will see England through to the knockout stages – providing Belgium do not lose to Tunisia tomorrow.

Few teams have been more impressive than the Three Lions were in the first half of their opening match, but Henderson is refusing to get too excited.

“I think it is too early to look at the tournament,” he added.

“It has just been one game for us and in the games I’ve seen, I haven’t been comparing us to the opposition.

“We just have to concentrate on what we can control and see where it takes us. We have to channel all our focus and energies into improving.”