Jordan Pickford has encountered a wide array of experiences since his initial England appearance at the under-16 level in 2009. Despite facing the misfortune of conceding the sole goal scored by a goalkeeper from open play during a Fifa World Cup match against Canada at the under-17 tournament in Mexico two years later, the 32-year-old has significantly redeemed himself.
With England’s recent 2-0 triumph over Panama, Pickford marked his 29th consecutive major tournament match as part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad, ensuring the team secured the top position in Group L. This victory sets the stage for a clash against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday, heightening the stakes for the goalkeeper.
“It ramps up now, doesn’t it?” he remarked following his 46th clean sheet and sixth at the World Cup, which came from 87 international 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.”
Having joined Everton from Sunderland during England’s journey 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 non-international experience has been limited, apart from six Europa League matches in his first season at Goodison Park. Although he has appeared shaky at times during the opening three matches of this tournament, his record with the senior national team remains intact.
Dean Henderson has been putting in strong performances after a successful season at Crystal Palace, yet there was never any doubt about Pickford being Tuchel’s first choice at this World Cup. He stands as one of the few remaining players from the Gareth Southgate era still in the starting lineup, and his familiarity with high-stakes tournaments could provide England with a significant advantage as they advance to 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 stated when discussing their approach in the coming days. “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 notable shift has emerged in England’s defensive strategy under Tuchel compared to Southgate. This was evident against Panama, where the team found themselves in precarious situations more than once. There has been a deliberate effort to take greater risks by positioning Nico O’Reilly high up the pitch from left back, often leaving defenders in one-on-one situations. However, Pickford is optimistic that 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 clarified. “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 celebrated moment in English football history, especially given the team’s previous challenges in such situations. He also successfully saved a penalty from Manuel Akanji during the Euro 2024 shootout win against Switzerland, and he scored a penalty against the same team in a Nations League third-place playoff in 2019. He has been practicing again in anticipation of potential shootouts.
“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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