Pickford praise is well-deserved

SAVE WITH 20 MINUTES TO GO WAS CRUCIAL

He may be relatively small in stature, but Jordan Pickford is making a big name for himself at the World Cup as the Everton goalkeeper produced three stunning saves against Sweden to help England reach the semifinals for the first time in 28 years.

In just his eighth international appearance, Pickford became the youngest English goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at the World Cup by flying left and right to deny Marcus Berg and Viktor Claesson before showing his agility by finger-tipping another rising Berg effort over.

For a match England largely controlled in winning 2-0, the fact Pickford was named Man-of-theMatch underlined his contribution to ensuring the Three Lions are still involved in the closing stages.

It has been a whirlwind week for the 24-year-old after his save from Colombia’s Carlos Bacca on Tuesday helped England win a World Cup penalty shootout for the first time.

“This is what football’s all about, being on the big stage,” said Pickford. “I don’t put myself under any pressure, I embrace the moment and play in the moment.

“Nothing fazes me, the pitch is always going to be the same, same lines, same goal height, it’s just a game of football.”

Peter Shilton, England’s goalkeeper the last time they made the last four, at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, was among those impressed at not just Pickford’s shotstopping, but his character in bellowing instructions to his defence at every opportunity.

“He makes three great saves to help England to semifinal place!” Shilton tweeted. “Love his shouting at the defence!”

The likes of Shilton, Gordan Banks or David Seaman would have been proud of Pickford’s display.

Yet, for a country with a rich tradition of goalkeeping greats, there were huge doubts over who Gareth Southgate would select between the sticks in Russia.

Joe Hart started for Southgate in qualifying, but paid for his poor form in a season on loan at West Ham to miss out on the squad completely.

A big factor in Southgate’s decision to go for Pickford was not just his ability to make saves, but his distribution from the back.

England have dominated possession in every match bar their final group game against Belgium when Southgate named a muchchanged side.

“Pickford’s distribution was superb and his save with 20 minutes to go was crucial,” said Southgate. “He is definitely the prototype of what the modern goalkeeper should be.” – AFP