It is often said that Spain's plethora of midfield talent leads the way when it comes to passing, but Tuesday's friendly against England will pit La Roja's best against a worthy adversary in Liverpool's Jordan Henderson.

Set to captain the Three Lions in the absence of regular skipper Wayne Rooney, the Sunderland-born midfielder has surprisingly made more passes than either Sergio Busquets (501), David Silva (579) or Thiago Alcantara (774) this season for Jurgen Klopp's high-energy side; topping the Premier League charts in this particular aspect of play.

With 800 completed attempts so far this campaign, England's vice-captain finds himself second only to Paris-Saint Germain's Thiago Motta in Europe's major leagues, also trumping the likes of Real Madrid's Toni Kroos and Marek Hamsik of Napoli.

Playing in the No. 6 role for club and country, his importance has grown in recent years to such an extent that he is now considered almost indispensable.

As the midfield fulcrum of Klopp's table-topping Reds, Henderson's impressive stats don't end there, with the 26-year-old also having made 47 tackles and racked up an average of 11.8 miles per match.

"I'm not surprised that Henderson is the leader for his country," said Klopp recently. "At 26, he's very responsible, he's serious ... a leader, he just wants to work and improve."

Maybe, after several difficult seasons experienced at the beginning of his Liverpool career, Henderson's ascent is proof that hard-work and patience really do pay off.

The next step, though, is to see how he fares at Wembley on Tuesday night against Spain's highly-rated passing kings.