Jordan Pickford has had a storied journey since making his debut for England at the under-16 level in 2009. Despite the setback of conceding a goal from a goalkeeper during a FIFA World Cup match against Canada in the under-17 tournament in Mexico two years later, the 32-year-old has redeemed himself remarkably.
England’s recent 2-0 win over Panama marked the 29th consecutive major tournament match featuring Pickford, as Thomas Tuchel’s squad claimed the top position in Group L, setting up a clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday. As the Everton goalkeeper understands, the stakes are about to rise significantly.
“It ramps up now, doesn’t it?” Pickford remarked following his 46th clean sheet, which also marked his sixth at the World Cup, out of 87 caps. “It’s a proper phase of football. One game at a time. There are lads who have won Champions Leagues, lads who have been in youth tournaments with England. Everyone knows the pressure of it and I think that is where you will see us thrive.”
After transferring to Everton from Sunderland during England’s run to the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Championships in Poland in 2017, where they lost to Germany in a penalty shootout, Pickford’s international experience has been largely limited to national play, aside from a few Europa League matches in his first season at Goodison Park. Despite some shaky moments in the initial three matches, including a close call when he charged out of his area and collided with Ghana substitute Prince Kwabena Adu, his overall record for the senior team remains impressive.
Dean Henderson has been making a strong case for selection after a standout season with Crystal Palace, but there was never any doubt that Pickford would be Tuchel’s first choice goalkeeper at this World Cup. As one of the few remaining players from the Gareth Southgate era in the starting lineup, Pickford’s experience in high-stakes matches could provide England with a significant advantage as they enter the knockout rounds.
“We’ve got our goal. You work on the training pitch, you keep that enjoyment and keep that fun environment. But once you’re training you’re working, you take the messages in and for me that’s the glue really. Because you want to be enjoying it but you don’t want to be solely focused on too much tomorrow, thinking about the next game. “You want to have that recovery environment but when we’re off the pitch it’s like our downtime and [we can] relax and have fun between us. And that’s what we do. That’s what I feel we’ve got right since I got here in 2018.” he said when discussing the team’s upcoming approach. “I wouldn’t say it’s a risk,”
“It’s tactical. We’re playing front-foot football. Hopefully everyone at home is enjoying it. We’re enjoying it. There are a lot of positives out of it because we want to get the ball high up and suffocate teams. That is what we’ll do. There will be the odd time when they’ll make one or two passes and you’ve got to be on your A game. It’s about recovery. You’ve seen a lot of recovery runs. There are a lot of lads putting a lot of effort in. Effort into last-ditch tackles. And then it comes down to me when I need to make a save as well.”
A noticeable change in England’s strategy under Tuchel compared to Southgate has been their defensive approach. This was clear in the match against Panama, where they were nearly caught out multiple times. The team has made a conscious effort to take more risks by advancing Nico O’Reilly from left back, often leaving defenders in one-on-one situations. Nonetheless, Pickford believes this could enhance their offensive capabilities.
“I’ve been taking a few. You’ve got to be prepared. We have so many good penalty takers so that’s put me down the pecking order. It’s my job to make the saves and in tournaments, time and time before, I’ve always come up with a save in a shootout for England and I’ll hopefully continue that. We believe in each other – they have confidence I can save a penalty and I have confidence they can score them. But we want to be winning the game, we don’t want to go to penalties.” he stated. “It’s tactical. We’re playing front-foot football. Hopefully everyone at home is enjoying it. We’re enjoying it. There are a lot of positives out of it because we want to get the ball high up and suffocate teams. That is what we’ll do. There will be the odd time when they’ll make one or two passes and you’ve got to be on your A game. It’s about recovery. You’ve seen a lot of recovery runs. There are a lot of lads putting a lot of effort in. Effort into last-ditch tackles. And then it comes down to me when I need to make a save as well.”
Pickford’s memorable performance during the intense penalty shootout victory against Colombia in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup has become a cherished moment in England’s football history. He also successfully saved a penalty from Manuel Akanji during the Euro 2024 shootout against Switzerland and scored one in a Nations League third-place playoff against the same team in 2019. He has been honing his skills again in preparation.
“I’ve been taking a few. You’ve got to be prepared. We have so many good penalty takers so that’s put me down the pecking order. It’s my job to make the saves and in tournaments, time and time before, I’ve always come up with a save in a shootout for England and I’ll hopefully continue that. We believe in each other – they have confidence I can save a penalty and I have confidence they can score them. But we want to be winning the game, we don’t want to go to penalties.”
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