Everton’s Jordan Pickford was England’s penalty shoot-out hero at this stage of the World Cup last time out but thankfully his safe hands when the score was still goalless ensured Senegal were despatched within the regulation 90 minutes this time around.
Although the Everton keeper has even scored in a shootout since then in the relatively low pressure third place play-off of the UEFA Nations League against Switzerland in 2019 and this week declared he’d be ready to step up again if required – several of our commentators used to label them ‘lotteries’ like there wasn’t actually any skill involved – the nation was able to breathe a collective sigh of relief that the champions of Africa were ultimately despatched 3-0 with relative ease.
Less than 18 months ago, even a brace of saves from Pickford in the penalty shootout to decide the European Championship final at Wembley wasn’t enough to prevent defeat to Italy but the fact that Gareth Southgate’s side went on to cruise into a quarter-final showdown against reigning world champions France owes much to the crucial save the Blues man made when the game was still in the balance. Pickford looked alert from the start here, gathering an early effort from Boulaye Dia with ease and then coming out of his area to head the ball out under pressure from Saliou Ciss in a move that appeared assertive rather than panic-stricken.
READ MORE: Neville Southall's greatest quotes after Everton legend takes Nigel Farage to task
READ MORE: Frank Lampard's Everton can learn from Bryan Oviedo win as they head to Manchester United
The truth was that for the first half an hour, England created next to nothing and it was Senegal who looked the more likely to break the deadlock so the top-class save Pickford made to keep out Dia on 32 minutes – a tough as teak block – proved to be a watershed moment in the contest. Just six minutes later, with their first real chance, England went ahead through Pickford’s fellow North Eastener Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and from then on it was relatively plane sailing.
Soon after England almost doubled their lead when Pickford’s long punt up the field, something that ITV summariser Lee Dixon described as “a good, old-fashioned goal-kick”, found its way to Bukayo Saka who picked out Harry Kane and while it didn't go in, the captain was not to be denied for long. As the former Arsenal title-winner observed, sometimes there can be something of a football snobbery about going direct this days.
Kane did break his duck just before half-time and Saka then added a third after the break but let’s not forget that this was a third consecutive clean sheet from the Everton man who has hardly put a foot, or glove, wrong so far in Qatar.
They used to say “Safe as the Banks of England” when praising the reassuring presence of the only goalkeeper from these shores to have lifted the World Cup to date but you wonder whether 1966 winner Gordon Banks would have been subject to the same kind of regular, arbitrary, ignorant and even hate-fuelled personal vendetta that follows Pickford around if he played now. Only today, Betfair became the latest outlet to spout such irresponsible nonsense with a debate of the blatant non-issue “Is Pickford England’s Achilles heel to winning the World Cup?” and frankly whether you’re an Evertonian or not, it’s disgusting and shameful because it bears no resemblance to reality.
READ NEXT
'Big Nev for PM' - Fans hail Everton legend Neville Southall as he tackles Nigel Farage
David Moyes reveals surprising item he kept in Everton office plus Wayne Rooney admission
Everton suffer heartbreak as Tom Cannon fires blank for U21s
Frank Lampard's x-rated rant, Farhad Moshiri arrival and the greatest goal you never saw
