Phil Thompson is in no doubt about the unsung hero of England's World Cup campaign.

The Liverpool legend has watched with pride as Jordan Henderson has made his critics eat their words.

Six weeks after leading the Reds out in the Champions League final, Henderson will win his 43rd cap for England in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against Sweden in Samara.

Triumph and only Russia or Croatia will stand between Gareth Southgate's side and the nation's first final appearance since 1966.

"Jordan has had an excellent World Cup so far," Thompson told the ECHO.

"I thought he put in a terrific performance against Colombia. It's great to see our captain playing such an important role for his country.

"When did we really see just how important he is to this England team? It was when he wasn't playing against Belgium.

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"When Gareth changed the team around and Eric Dier played in that holding role it made you really appreciate what Jordan offers.

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"Where Dier tends to slow things down, Jordan really gives you energy. He moves the ball far quicker and forward more often than Dier.

"He covers so much ground, wins the ball back, protects the back three and provides the supply to the players in front of him.

"After Harry Kane, I'd say Jordan has been England's best player. He's been an 8 or a 9 out of 10."

Henderson hasn't been on the losing side in any of his last 28 international matches - the longest unbeaten run of any England player in history.

The 28-year-old midfielder has carried on in Russia where he left off for the Reds towards the end of last season.

But Thompson, who represented England at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, knows that not everyone shares that upbeat assessment.

Henderson still polarises opinion but the former Reds skipper says the doubters overlook the value of his contribution.

"Even a section of Liverpool fans still question him," he said.

"When anything goes wrong, Jordan always seems to be the one who gets the blame. He's the one people point the finger at.

"Jordan had a very difficult act to follow being captain after Stevie. He's never going to be Steven Gerrard.

"He would be the first to admit he's not that type of player. Some of the criticism he gets is very harsh. The lad doesn't deserve it.

"He's not flashy, he doesn't hit 50-yard balls all the time. He doesn't play a lot of killer passes - other players are in there to do that.

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"Some people want him to be something he's not, something he's never claimed to be. He knows and understands his limitations. He makes the best of what he's good at.

"Look at the managers who keep picking him. They know exactly what he gives you.

"He's a leader. It was a toss up between him and Harry Kane for the captaincy. I can understand why Gareth went for Harry but Jordan still has a big influence on the field.

"It took a lot of guts to step forward like he did to take a penalty the other night. The keeper pulled off a decent save but thankfully it didn't cost us."

Thompson, who won 42 caps between 1976 and 1982 and captained England on six occasions, believes Southgate's young side have benefited from the manager's relaxed approach.

For Henderson and clubmate Trent Alexander-Arnold, the prize at stake is immense. Now Sweden stand in their path.

"I've got to be honest, I'm getting excited," Thompson said.

"It's an unbelievable chance to get to the final. This is England's best opportunity for a long time and I just hope they take it.

"With Germany and Spain going out early, it really opened up England's side of the draw.

"It was arguably the most underwhelming send-off England have ever had before a major tournament. Everyone was playing it down.

"In the past there was all the hype about potentially winning it. This time expectations were much lower.

(Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

"The manager deserves a lot of credit. He has put his faith in a lot of young players and it's terrific how he's handled the situation with the media.

"Listen, man for man we're better than Sweden. We've been great from set-pieces but one concern for me has been the lack of creativity from open play.

"We haven't got Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling and Deli Alli into the penalty box enough.

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"Sweden will sit back and we'll need more of a cutting edge. At the other end we just need to make sure we don't do anything stupid defensively.

"You don't want to give away a soft goal and then be chasing the game against Sweden. It will be tight but it's a game England should win."