IT'S DEAN! EMOTIONAL

Henderson heartbreak before landmark moment for Lions

- ANDY DUNN

DO NOT let anyone tell you international football - a UEFA Nations League game or whatever - does not matter.

Three months ago, Dean Henderson was heartbroken after his dad Dougie passed away at the tragically early age of 57.

Last week, Henderson was devastated when his friend and former Sheffield United team-mate George Baldock died at the age of 31.

No wonder Henderson's feelings caught up with him when, in Helsinki on Sunday, he was handed his first start as an England player.

After his debut as a second-half substitute against the Republic of Ireland in a friendly, Henderson had to wait almost four years before his next appearance and first start for his country.

And who did he turn to doing that frustrating time? A time when a move to Manchester United did not go to plan.

"My old man," he said, in the bowels of Helsinki's Olympic Stadium.