POPE CAN NICK IT
Pickford facing loss of his first- choice status
JORDAN PICKFORD is facing a serious threat to his status as England No1 this week.
Boss Gareth Southgate is likely to give Burnley’s Nick Pope a chance in one of the two Nations League games against Denmark and Iceland.
It is the first time that Everton’s Pickford has faced doubts since becoming England’s firstchoice goalkeeper ahead of the 2018 World Cup.
He was questioned by club manager Carlo Ancelotti last season – the Italian warning the player that his form was not good enough.
Pope Pope, left, has been out outstanding this year for Burnley, applying pressure on Pickford i in the international aren arena. Dean Hende Henderson has also been highly regarded
by Southgate as the Manchester United keeper progressed through the ranks, and was outstanding while on loan at Sheffield United last season.
It has left Pickford fearing he may lose his place after a series of high- profile gaffes, even though Southgate has been quick to stress that he has never let England down. Ancelotti said last month: “He’s not doing well. For the quality that he has, he has to be better. I’m not so worried because he has quality, he has character, but I have to say to him, he has to improve.” Southgate hinted when he named his squad last week that the keepers are now on a level playing field and the shirt is up for grabs, a big departure from when he backed Pickford as his No1 to the hilt in March. “It is fair to say Jordan has had a challenging period with his club, but all the goalkeepers on the list have had goals that they would have hoped to have done better with,” said Southgate.
“In every position on the field we’ve got to have that competition. It’s 10 months since we played. There have been fluctuations in form during that time. time.”