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England midfielder Jordan Henderson has leapt to the defense of Jude Bellingham, saying the polarizing 22-year-old is central to the team despite outside scrutiny and that his influence is often misunderstood.

Bellingham has become a focal point for England both on and off the pitch, with his performances and demeanor often dissected by media and fans after a meteoric rise that has taken him from teenage prospect to one of the squad's leading figures.

The Real Madrid midfielder is a player fans and media seem to either love or hate, and his intense on-field emotions have sparked widespread debate ‌over whether ‌his behavior stems from passion or ego.

There have been questions around ‌whether ⁠he should start ⁠for England, who kick off the World Cup against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday.

"I honestly couldn't speak highly enough of him," Henderson told reporters after England's training session. "I know a lot gets written in the media, and I find it hard to read sometimes, because I just know how big an influence he is on this team, how good a teammate he is off the field and what he gives us is just something really special.

"I think he really gives us ⁠the X-factor. He's had big moments in his career. He's a ‌big-game player. He's got experience in tournaments, so he's ‌a huge, huge player for us in this tournament."

While Bellingham's rapid ascent has meant increasing responsibility in ‌major matches, Henderson was keen to highlight the contributions people do not see.

"If you ‌ask any player in the group, they'll tell you how much of a good teammate he is, how well he trains," Henderson said. "I know he's young, but he's very mature in his head.

CONTROVERSIAL SELECTION

Henderson was a controversial selection himself, with manager Thomas Tuchel choosing the Brentford player who turns 36 on the ‌day of England's opening match over younger midfielders Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White and Adam Wharton.

Asked about his role at his ⁠fourth World Cup, Henderson -- ⁠who was left out of Gareth Southgate's squad for the 2024 Euros -- said Tuchel told him "to be myself, regardless how much I'm playing, whether I'm playing every game, whether I'm not playing as much, just to be myself and enjoy being back in the squad."

Croatia's squad will feature Luka Modric, who at age 40 is playing in his fifth World Cup.

"I think his career speaks for itself," Henderson said. "He's a top world-class player, so hard to play against, hopefully he doesn't perform as well as we know he can against us, but I haven't seen him have a bad game yet, so it'll be a difficult test, of course, for whoever plays in midfield."

Henderson's inclusion in Tuchel's squad made him the first Englishman to be selected for seven major tournaments.

"Whether you're my age or whether you're 25, you never know when the last one is, to be honest, which is why you've got to treat every one like the last one," he said.

New Zealand ‌coach Darren Bazeley brushed aside the political backdrop to his side's World Cup opener against Iran on Monday, saying his players were focused solely on football despite heightened attention surrounding the match.

The Group G clash in Los Angeles comes after months of conflict involving Iran and a day after Washington and Tehran announced a framework agreement for a deal to end their war.

Asked about the wider significance of the fixture, Bazeley insisted New Zealand had prepared as they would for ‌any other match.

"To ‌be honest, we've treated it as a ‌normal ⁠game," he told ⁠reporters on Sunday.

"We prepare the same for every international game that we play, and we've done nothing different for this game. For us, it's a big game because it's a World Cup game, and we want to do well here at the World Cup."

Captain Chris Wood, New Zealand's all-time top scorer, ⁠echoed his coach's view.

"All we've been focused ‌on is football," said the ‌striker. "Once you go through the white lines, nothing else matters."

The match is ‌expected to draw a large Iranian diaspora crowd in ‌Los Angeles, although it remains unclear how much support the national team itself will receive from a fan base divided by politics.

But Bazeley said his players were relishing the prospect of a big ‌atmosphere.

"All the players prefer playing in big crowds and big atmospheres. It's what we came ⁠to the ⁠World Cup for," he said.

The fixture marks New Zealand's return to the World Cup after a 16-year absence, and Bazeley said his squad had spent years preparing for the occasion.

"We've waited a long time to be here," he said. "We're excited to get going."

New Zealand face an Iran side ranked 20th in the world and unbeaten through Asian qualifying, but Wood said the tournament had already shown there was little separating many of the competing nations.

"It's exciting that mostly all the games have been quite tight and quite close, and everybody's had a chance to win," he said. "That gives us confidence."

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