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Jordan Henderson believes England have proved capable of handling the hostile atmosphere that awaits them in Republic of Ireland.
England face a friendly in Dublin on Sunday in the first fixture between the sides on Irish soil since 1995, when the game was abandoned after 27 minutes with Ireland leading 1-0 and visiting fans rioting in the stands at Lansdowne Road.
The FA have sought to relieve tension ahead of Sunday by writing to the 3,000 travelling fans urging them to ditch the “f**k the IRA” chant heard regularly at England matches as Roy Hodgson’s side prepare for a stern examination of their Euro 2016 credentials.
But Henderson claims November’s 3-1 victory against Scotland in Glasgow is evidence they can handle such occasions and welcomes the series of high-profile matches against teams including France and Germany lined up for later in the year.
“These games are really important,” he told Standard Sport. “You want to be playing the best teams in the world and I think in those games you get a taste of what it will be like in a European Championship or a World Cup.
England train at St George's Park ahead of Ireland friendly
“It was an amazing atmosphere in Scotland. We all knew it would be brilliant but it showed in our performance [that we can handle it]. It was one of the better performances we put in over the course of the last few months.
“I thought we were brilliant really in terms of the atmosphere, the occasion and how we handled everything.
“Big games like that are for big players and I feel we have got a lot of big players here.”
