Sunderland's David Meyler has tipped former teammate Jordan Henderson to captain England in the future.
The midfielder backed the Liverpool youngster to silence his critics following the hostile reception he received from the home support during the 1-0 friendly win over Belgium.
"He is good enough, there's no question about that," Meyler told talkSPORT. "I played with him at Sunderland and I'm surprised that England supporters would even boo him.
"It would never happen in Ireland. Maybe Irish people and English people are different but that's unheard of because whether you like him or not he's going to be an English midfielder in three or four years' time and eventually he's going to captain England."
Meyler went on to say that Henderson has the ability to excel at club level despite a troubled start to his Anfield career.
"He's had a tough start because everyone expects world class things of him but he moved to Liverpool on his own and took a month or two to settle in.
"His family knows and his friends know that he is well able to play for Liverpool without a shadow of a doubt. It's like when Lucas played for Liverpool three seasons ago people booed him and gave him a hard time but a year and a half later he became a fans' favourite.
"Jordan needs more time and when he proves himself the Liverpool fans won't even remember his first season."
Henderson was a late addition to Roy Hodgson's squad for Euro 2012.
Mark Langshaw
