If Jordan Henderson’s surname was Hendrao or Hendrinho, every forward pass would have been memorable and the perception would have been different. He would have been looked at differently than a boring English midfielder, because he’s metamorphosed to much more than that.
As Jordan Henderson stepped up to the penalty spot for England against Columbia, supporters in vibrant yellow kits weren’t the only ones hoping he might fail.
English supporters of Manchester United, Everton, and, weirdly, Tottenham and Manchester City fans wouldn’t mind a Henderson miss in an England victory to fuel the narrative slandering the Liverpool captain.
Henderson would have known this on his long, lonely walk from midfield in front of millions worldwide, while alone with his thoughts. He had the weight of a nation on his shoulders; years and years of penalty-related ignominy, poetically personified by his manager Gareth Southgate, standing on the sideline with the burden of missing the crucial penalty in Euro ‘96.