Another major tournament, more Pickford nonsense

(Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Will it ever stop?

Jordan Pickford has been England’s most successful goalkeeper at major tournaments, after the great Gordon Banks.

Peter Shilton may have won the most caps (a record that will soon fall to Harry Kane); David Seaman may have won domestic titles with Arsenal, but Pickford has delivered for England at two World Cups and two Euros.

England have reached two finals, one semi-final and one quarter-final with Pickford between the sticks. After three games of the 2026 World Cup, the Three Lions have kept two clean sheets. In qualifying, they did not concede a single goal.

In fact, Pickford has kept more clean sheets at major tournaments than any other England shot-stopper.

Yet in the wake of England’s 4-2 win (yes, win, not defeat) over Croatia, the usual media circus was up and running over Pickford.

This time it was Emmanuel Petit and Troy Deeney who decided to try their hand at the Pickford bashing.

Petit said on TalkSPORT: “If you want to go until the end, you need to have one of the strongest goalkeepers in the competition. I'm not really confident with him. With the ball at his feet, especially on the line, sometimes when he goes for a free kick or corner, I always have the feeling that something could happen.”

In fairness, Petit wasn’t too harsh. I would disagree about Pickford not being a strong keeper, of course, because he is just as good if not better than Emiliano Martinez and Mike Maignan, and both Argentina and France are likely to go on deep runs.

But there are question marks over Pickford at set-pieces, sure, and his distribution can be iffy. It’s worth pointing out, his distribution can also be spot on, and there were numerous examples against Croatia of him releasing England’s forwards with pinpoint passes.

Deeney, who of course has so much top-level international experience to call on, said on CBS Sports: “We're trying to win a World Cup. That’s why we're here. In my opinion, and respectfully Jordan, because you know I like you. We can't win it with that guy in goal. He doesn't give you any confidence.”

“We can’t win it with that guy in goal.”?

‘That guy’, the same guy who was brilliant in the Euro 2020 final penalty shoot-out, only to for other players to fail to deliver? The same guy who ended England’s penalty shoot-out pain with his heroics against Colombia back in 2018? 

Pickford did not have his best game against Croatia, granted. That came down to the first goal, which he should have done better for, because he got a hand to it. But it was also a fierce strike, that came about because of an error from John Stones.

England’s defence, which is much more of a concern than the goalkeeper behind it, was again found wanting for Croatia’s second goal, which was in no way on Pickford, who then made a superb, instinctive stop in the second half, to keep it at 3-2 before Marcus Rashford extended the Three Lions’ advantage.

Pickford had one shaky moment against Ghana, in an awful team display. He charged out of his box but then pulled out of a challenge at the last minute, catching a stray leg from the attacker. It was given as an England free-kick but there has been talk it could have gone the other way. A quick look at the replays, though, show it was a stamp, and whether it was intentional or not, Pickford could have been badly hurt.

He had very little to do against Panama, yet still, the talk continues about his position. Why? What more does he need to prove?

And who else is really challenging him?

Dean Henderson is a good goalkeeper, but he’s not at Pickford’s level yet. James Trafford has a lot of hype and is a great talent — he’s probably the next cab off the rank — but he does not play regularly at Manchester City and has been found wanting in big moments.

Pickford is clear, still, as England’s best option between the sticks, so cut out the nonsense and focus on the areas of the team that do deserve scrutiny, instead of on one of the stalwarts who has always delivered.

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