Former Ireland goalkeeper Alan Kelly has hailed the importance of Jordan Pickford in England’s last-16 win over Senegal on Sunday night.
Most of the headlines were focused on the performances of England’s brilliant young attackers, such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka.
However Kelly, who now works as Pickford’s goalkeeping coach at Everton, was quick to highlight the significance of the England netminder’s contribution.
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He made two important saves at key moments in the 3-0 win, with the game still scoreless, and Kelly said: “The first one (to deny Ismaila Sarr) went completely under the radar.
“Most people thought the Senegalese centre-forward had hit it over the bar but actually Jordan has recognised the potential danger from a cross coming into the six-yard-box.
“If you can put a striker under pressure, then you force them into doing something maybe they don’t want to do.
“He’s managed to get a block on it, it has hit his forearm and diverted over the bar.
“It might have only been a small touch but it’s enough to make the difference between it going over the bar or in the back of the net.”
Pickford also denied Boulaye Dia and Kelly, who left Stephen Kenny’s Ireland coaching staff almost two years ago, said: “One thing that everybody saw from the angles on the TV was that the ball gets hit into the turf.
“If you’re set for a certain type of shot, you think it’s going to come at you really quickly, but then it takes a deflection or it bounces off the turf, you’ve got to maintain your composure and your position, and again I go back to Evertonians seeing it week in week out from Jordan.
“Those reactions of just getting an arm out, getting a hand out, making sure to get in the way of the ball.
“That’s something that he’s obviously brilliant at and he showed it again with that second save.”
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