Dejan Lovren has heaped praise on Liverpool teammate Jordan Henderson for showing his leadership qualities at the World Cup with international side England.

The 28-year-old has been right at the heart of the Three Lions' promising early displays in Russia, skippering his side to a 2-1 win over Tunisia and a 6-1 thumping against Panama.

Henderson also played a key role in Liverpool's run to the Champions League final in 2017-18, and Lovren - himself looking forward to a last-16 tie with Croatia - believes that his club captain deserves plenty of credit.

"I'm definitely proud of Jordan Henderson, who is showing through all the season that he had a great season and even with the [mental] fatigue, he shows that he is a real leader to Liverpool and also to the English team," he is quoted as saying by the Reds' official website. "I hope we can meet later on [in the world Cup]."

England face Belgium in their final Group G outing on Thursday evening, while Croatia take on Iceland 24 hours beforehand.