Croatia vs England – Will Henderson come through his midfield acid test?

England find themselves in an unusual situation heading into Wednesday’s semi-final against Croatia, having reached the last four of a World Cup for the first time since 1990 without facing any team of serious note.

Even Croatia are not the same calibre of teams on the other side of the draw, but they will provide England with their first real examination this summer. Zlatko Dalic’s side were tipped as dark horses before the tournament and now they are potentially 90 minutes away from their first ever World Cup final.

The 2018 World Cup represents the last opportunity for some of Croatia’s aging stars and the likes of Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic will be desperate to ensure this golden opportunity doesn’t slip through their fingers like it has at previous major tournaments.

Croatia lack significant squad depth but in Luka Modric they have one of the best players at the tournament. The 32-year-old is the undeniable star of this Croatia side and the winner of the Wednesday’s midfield battle will likely decide the semi-final tie in Moscow.

England have been almost faultless from set-pieces this summer, scoring more goals from deadball situations than any other nation (8), but will struggle to get into those sort of positions if they cannot get a stranglehold of the game in midfield.

Marcelo Brozovic’s introduction during the second half of their quarter-final triumph over hosts Russia appeared to liberate Modric and Croatia are expected to start this way against England. With Modric deployed further forward, it will only heap more pressure on Jordan Henderson’s role in the team.

England expect Henderson to be fit to start after the Liverpool midfielder suffered a hamstring scare on Saturday and it’s crucial the 28-year-old is firing on all cylinders.

The Liverpool captain has vindicated Southgate’s decision to trust him over Eric Dier to anchor England’s midfield this summer, excelling beyond expectation. With Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard playing in front of Henderson, it places a huge amount of importance and stress on his role in midfield.

Henderson’s reputation has enhanced this summer but the calibre of opponents faced must be put into perspective. While no fault of his own, playing against Tunisia, Panama, Sweden and, to some extent, Colombia has given Henderson the chance to grow into the tournament.

It’s difficult to put Henderson’s quality into context, but his importance was best emphasised in the dying embers of normal time in England’s dramatic last-16 win over Colombia. With England leading 1-0, Southgate subbed on Dier to help see them over the line, but his introduction only disrupted England’s midfield and invited Colombian pressure.

Dier replaced Henderson in the anchoring role, pushing the latter into a slightly more advanced position. It was a logical move by Southgate in his attempts to solidify things, but Dier performed poorly and it ended up working against them.

Henderson was overlooked by Southgate for the England captaincy but the Liverpool skipper remains a trusted lieutenant and has emerged as a real leader on the pitch. His role is crucial to the success of England’s system but he is also vocal, directing players into space and issuing encouragement when to step out and play with freedom. Against Croatia, he will be even more crucial.

Not only will Henderson have to improve his role in England’s progressive build-up play, but he will also be tasked with preventing Modric from taking control of proceedings. Modric and Henderson will likely battle to occupy the same space and that will make it harder for the England midfielder to help instigate attacks.

England have generally struggled from open-play this summer. In fact, Germany, who have played two games fewer than England, have created 22 more goalscoring chances from open play than Southgate’s side. With Ivan Rakitic and Marcelo Brozovic occupying Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli, it will be even more difficult for the Three Lions on Wednesday.

Southgate’s side have become accustomed to being given the lion’s share of the ball so far this summer and it will be interesting to see how they cope against a side that also like to dominate possession for the first time at the 2018 World Cup. In fact, only three teams average more possession than England (55.4%) and one of those sides are Croatia.

Aside from his penalty miss against Colombia, Henderson has barely put a foot wrong this summer, but Croatia are not Panama or Tunisia and they’re not even Colombia. England are on the cusp of their first World Cup final since their 1966 triumph and, to the dismay of some England supporters, Henderson is key to their chances of getting there.