England star Jordan Henderson responds to Wales’ World Cup digs

Jordan Henderson has told Wales that England are ready to do their talking on the pitch after barbs from the Welsh camp. Wales striker Kieffer Moore stoked the pre-match fires by claiming “it would be amazing” to knock England out of the World Cup and that he “can’t wait” to do so.

Moore’s team-mate Sorba Thomas meanwhile said: “I’m someone who wants to play in the big games, someone who wants to be a part of those big moments and for us, we don’t fear England, never have. Whether that’s football, rugby whatever… we don’t fear England.

“For us, they have a big match against the USA… why can’t we be the ones to knock them out?” But Liverpool captain Henderson, who is expected to start in midfield after coming on as a second-half substitute against USA, insists England will not rise to the bait.

“We don’t need extra motivation,” he said. “The motivation is to win games and do our talking on the pitch, perform well and focus on what we’ve got to do. That’s what we will do.”

Moore, who played for England C but qualifies for Wales through a Llanrug-born grandfather, scored against Everton’s Jordan Pickford for Bournemouth earlier this month and quipped: “It is nice to get one up already.”

Henderson is aware of the criticism the Three Lions have faced after their goalless draw against USA, when many had expected them to win and book a spot in the World Cup knockout stages with a game to spare. The Liverpool midfielder added: “That’s what tournament football gives you.

“We expect high things from ourselves and the fans expect big things from us as well with what we have done over the past few years. That is part and parcel of football, really.

“It’s how you deal with it. It’s going to be emotional, you’re going to have different challenges in front of you, certainly in tournament football, and it’s how you deal with them and hopefully we can deal with them in the right way.”

England boss Gareth Southgate added of the team he could play vs Wales: “We want to win football matches. We have to balance freshness with stability, that’s always the decision you’re making with the team. We have a chance to win the group with a positive result.

“We are going to pick a team that we believe can win the game. That’s our priority.” He added of captain Harry Kane: “He’s fine with the knock he had. I don’t know why everyone says it’s his ankle [that is causing him injury problems], it’s his foot.

“There’s only Ben White [missing] with illness. So we have everyone available to select from which is a great position to be in. It makes decisions difficult, you want a fully fit squad so that’s where we are at.”