England captain Kyle Walker has spoken out in defence of team-mate Henderson who was booed at England's last game at Wembley by fans. Walker has called for unity between fans and team ahead of the crucial Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.
Kyle Walker spoke to the media ahead of England's crucial game against Italy to qualify for Euro 2024. The player has called for unity between the team and the fans to achieve the goal of qualification.
"I've been here when it was tough to come to England. Those days when you're in the hotels and no one talks to you, it was hard. So to come here and to share the moments that we have done with these players, even though we have fallen short, it's been enjoyable," said Kyle Walker.
The Manchester City right-back has also called for respect and appreciation for the work Gareth Southgate is doing. "I feel what the boss has done and what the boss has created, I don't feel like he gets the credit for that at all," added the Man City player.
"Listening to his press conference here, he has to deal with some tough questions. Rather than concentrating on how well we are doing, we are concentrating on the boos and what we haven't done rather than what we have achieved. It's not easy to qualify for a competition."
"Have they become used to us just qualifying? Now if we didn't qualify, God knows. I wouldn't leave my house. I'd have to stay indoors. We are qualifying and it's still difficult to leave your house," he said.
"I don't see the balance of it. We are doing well. Any manager in the world would love to manage this team and, instead of actually appreciating it, we are trying to pick the negatives and say, 'They didn't do this right' or 'They didn't do that right'."
"The fans are completely behind us, otherwise they wouldn't turn up in their thousands, sell out Wembley and travel across the world to support us. About Jordan, they can have their opinion but he is representing the country. He is on the pitch, he is playing for the team and we want the team to do well, so we want him to do well," Walker said of the booing of Henderson in England's last game at Wembley.