Work needed to match Becks and Co

IT’S all well and good having young players come into the England team — but having experience and quality around them helps massively.

Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi deserve credit for the confidence they showed against the Czech Republic. But what also caught my eye were the likes of Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling leading by example.

People have doubted Henderson but I thought he had a great World Cup and is England’s most reliable midfielder. He’s as fit as they come, rarely gives the ball away and is starting to move the ball quicker and be more productive.

Henderson is 28, Kane (right) and Sterling are younger at 25 and 24 but are already role models to the Sancho generation. Kane looked fresh and was unselfish in his play. He is very clever, it’s like having a No9 and No10 on the pitch at the same time. Sterling was the obvious star of the show with his hat-trick and is transferring that ability to the international stage. Gareth Southgate will have been delighted with the performance, the style and tempo of it. But behind the new players, the seniors are still going to be important. As great as the goal rush was on Friday, it only counts for three points. Montenegro and Bulgaria are winnable games but they aren’t a walkover. Podgorica will be tough tomorrow — England have been there twice and failed to win.

There were question marks when Southgate took over about leaders in the team but leadership comes in different forms. My England skipper David Beckham wouldn’t rant and rave but his energy and enthusiasm was infectious.

Henderson is becoming more verbal and demands from others what he puts in himself but his greatest quality is that he gives everything and players coming into the squad will see that and respond.

I still think this team has progress to make before they are considered as good as the so-called Golden Generation of Gerrard, Cole, Lampard, Beckham, Terry, Scholes, Ferdinand, Owen and Rooney.

I know they didn’t get beyond the World Cup quarter-finals but they competed at a world level for a decade. This current crop can do it but a lot of it is still potential.