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Jordan Henderson was hailed as a "leader" after starring for England in their 2-1 win over Tunisia at the World Cup on Monday night.

The Liverpool skipper turned in an eye-catching display in central midfield as Harry Kane's double saw off the north Africans in their Group G opener.

Kane gave the Three Lions the lead with a smart finish before Kyle Walker conceded a penalty for catching Tunisia's Fakhreddine Ben Youssef with a flailing arm.

Ferjani Sassi netted from 12 yards to even things up before a last-gasp header from Tottenham striker Kane gave Gareth Southgate's men the perfect start to their campaign in Russia.

(Image: Alex Morton/Getty Images)

After the game, BBC pundits Frank Lampard and Alan Shearer were full of praise for Reds captain Henderson, with the former gushing about his leadership qualities.

Lampard said: "He carried on his recent form for Liverpool.

"With Jordan Henderson I wasn’t properly sure what kind of midfielder he was a couple of years ago, he was a bit of an all-rounder. But he’s certainly a leader, he’s matured on and off the pitch and he’s used real intelligence to take that role.

"He’s got great drive in him. The one question you mentioned is can he get a pass a bit earlier and we saw that he can tonight.

"You need a passer and you need the movement between the lines and we had that both, particularly in the first half."

Newcastle icon Shearer was impressed with Henderson's forward passes as he constantly tried to get the Three Lions on the front foot in Volgograd.

"I thought he showed his intent very, very early on in the game with that ball which came into him first time, just around the corner pass with the forward running on to it," added Shearer.

"And if the forward knows a midfielder will do that, it makes it a lot easier for a forward to time his runs."

Former Reds left-back John Arne Riise was another who was pleased with what he watched from Henderson, who turned 28 on Sunday.

Riise tweeted: "Be proud @JHenderson brilliant performance mate!! Happy for you".