He has his trusted lieutenants on the field but stories of Gareth Southgate’s loyalty to certain players can be exaggerated.
Raheem Sterling, for example, had already been told he was being dropped for the knockout game against Senegal before he had to go home and be with his family. But if, aside from Harry Kane perhaps, there is one player in whom the England manager has unswerving faith, it is Jordan Pickford.
Against France in Al Bayt Stadium, Pickford will win his 50th cap and England’s World Cup future will be in his hands. Southgate has always had faith, having selected him from the under-21s, when Pickford was out on loan at Championship clubs. And the Everton goalkeeper will be one of only two players in the England starting line-up who has not experienced Champions League football.
Bukayo Saka ’s excuse would be that he is only 21 years of age. By the time he is Pickford’s age, 28, he will have played many a Champions League match. But while his club form has occasionally been inconsistent, the combination of Southgate and country make Pickford a different proposition.
Pickford could well have another decade of top-class football and there is no reason why he will not end up above Joe Hart and David Seaman - who won 75 caps each - and in second place in the list of England 'keepers with the most appearances (Peter Shilton was capped 125 times and won his last one at the age of 40).
Will Jordan Pickford keep France out on Saturday? Have your say in the comments!
He has certainly found a level of inner calm that was not there earlier in his career. As he looked forward to the quarter-final showdown with the French, Pickford explained: “I’m not afraid to speak about it but when I started using a psychologist a couple of years ago, I feel that’s benefited my career massively.
“I know it is not for everybody but I can only speak on behalf of myself. That’s helped me massively for calmness. It’s just a different intake of myself really. I’m still learning about myself really as an individual. There is always time to learn. I had a blip which changed me to become even better. I went back to the drawing board to see what I needed to do to improve.”
His form for England over five years, though, has been pretty constant and he was a key figure in the runs to the semi-finals of World Cup 2018 (he saved a penalty in the shoot against Colombia in the round of 16) and to the Euro 2020 final.
Pickford saved two penalties in that particular shootout but still finished on the losing team. If it comes to a shootout against France, Pickford - who has probable takers’ names and notes on his water bottle - will go through a familiar routine.
“I’ve got the same process which I do all the time, for each individual penalty I’m facing,” he explained. “I will do the same thing. You can do research but it is about executing your process.”
Pickford scored a penalty in a Nations League game against Switzerland and says he would be happy to step up again. But he would, of course, prefer it does not come to that and England take care of business in normal time.
As it stands, the only English 'keeper to boast more than Pickford’s nine clean sheets at World Cups and European Championships is Shilton, who kept 10. On his 50th appearance for the Three Lions, Saturday night would be a good time to join the great man.
