Pickford’s Journey and Experience
Jordan Pickford, now 32, has experienced a wide range of moments since his first England appearance at under-16 level in 2009. Despite the early setback of conceding a rare goal scored by a goalkeeper from open play during a FIFA U-17 World Cup match against Canada in Mexico in 2011, Pickford has significantly redeemed himself over the years.
Saturday’s match marked the 29th consecutive major tournament game featuring Pickford for England, as Thomas Tuchel’s team secured top position in Group L, setting up a clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday. The Everton goalkeeper recognizes that the stakes are increasing.
“It ramps up now, doesn’t it?” he said after recording his 46th clean sheet, and sixth at the World Cup, from 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.”
Club Career and International Form
Pickford transferred to Everton from Sunderland during England’s 2017 U-21 European Championship campaign in Poland, where the team was eliminated by Germany in a penalty shootout. Aside from six Europa League matches in his first season at Goodison Park, his non-domestic experience has primarily been international football. Although he appeared shaky in England’s initial three matches of the current tournament and was fortunate not to be penalized for charging out of his penalty area, his senior international record remains strong.
Competition and Leadership
Dean Henderson has challenged Pickford’s position following an impressive season at Crystal Palace, but there was never doubt about Tuchel’s choice for the starting goalkeeper at this World Cup. As one of the few remaining players from the Gareth Southgate era in the starting lineup, Pickford’s extensive tournament experience could prove invaluable as England progresses to the knockout rounds.
“It’s not too different,” Pickford said when asked about their approach moving forward. “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.”
Defensive Strategy and Playing Style
One notable difference between England under Tuchel and Southgate has been the defensive approach. As seen against Panama, where the team was nearly caught out multiple times, there is a deliberate strategy to take more risks by pushing left back Nico O’Reilly high up the pitch, often leaving defenders in one-on-one situations. Pickford believes this tactic could enhance England’s attacking capabilities.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a risk,” he explained. “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.”
Penalty Shootout Legacy
Pickford’s crucial saves in penalty shootouts have become part of England’s recent football lore. His performance in the 2018 World Cup last-16 shootout victory against Colombia was particularly memorable given England’s previous struggles. He also saved a penalty from Manuel Akanji during the Euro 2024 shootout win against Switzerland and scored a penalty against the same nation in a 2019 Nations League third-place playoff. He continues to practice penalties in preparation for any eventuality.
“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.”
