Jordan Henderson completely ignored Kylian Mbappe’s attempts to greet him in the tunnel before England’s World Cup quarterfinal loss to France. Gareth Southgate’s men were eliminated despite putting up a valiant fight against the defending champions, who advanced to the semi-finals thanks to Olivier Giroud’s late-headed goal.
Liverpool fans praised Henderson on social media for growing closer to Jude Bellingham during the World Cup, and the 19-year-old has been linked with a big-money move to Anfield at the end of the season. However, Reds fans will have been amused by Henderson’s actions in the tunnel before kick-off against France, when he appeared to snub a pre-match handshake with Mbappe, who has also been linked with Liverpool in recent years.
The French striker tried to get Henderson’s attention by gesturing at him, but he was left hanging by the England midfielder, who blanked Mbappe by refusing to even look in his direction. Mbappe then retracted his hand and smiled wryly before having the last laugh as France defeated England to advance to the World Cup semi-finals.
The incident was captured on video and shared on Twitter, but it’s unclear whether Mbappe was gesticulating to another player in front of the Liverpool player or to a young mascot who was not in the frame.
Watch Kylian Mbappe’s video here
Confused-Who was wrong ? Mbappe or Henderson pic.twitter.com/m2Swu3xQwA
— George Addo Jnr (@addojunr) December 12, 2022
Henderson appeared to be disrespectful, speaking of his despair after the final whistle on yet another painful night for England at the World Cup. “Straight after the game it’s difficult to find the right words,” he told ITV Sport. “I thought we give everything in the game, disappointed to go 1-0 down but the character, mentality to keep going and find the equaliser. I can’t say any more really. We give it everything and unfortunately it wasn’t our night.
“We felt really good, and the performances were really good. The focus and hunger was good every single day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our night. You’ve got to give credit to France as they’re a good team, but I still felt it was there for us to win tonight.”
