SHILTON: WHY I’D PLUMP FOR PICKFORD

Jordan PICKFord has given Gareth Southgate plenty to think about for the opening World Cup match against Tunisia.

Though the Holland side that faced England on Friday in amsterdam was far removed from the days of ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Patrick Kluivert, there were encouraging signs that a decent England team is developing. and a team with confidence in their young goalkeeper behind.

What impressed me was the players seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were up for it, which was a good sign. There have been times recently when it has looked like too much trouble to play for England, with some players concentrating more on their Champions League status.

a year ago I suggested in Sportsmail that of all the eligible goalkeepers I favoured either Jack Butland or Pickford and I believe that Gareth now faces the choice between those two. Joe Hart seems to have tumbled down the pecking order.

It is a dilemma. Hart, at the age of 30 and with over 300 Premier League appearances, would appear to be the safe option. He has also kept 43 clean sheets in 75 internationals. But he is not in form and only recently returned to the West Ham team, where he made a mistake in a 3- 0 home defeat by Burnley.

It appears to me that the manager is trying to get his England team playing in a similar style to Manchester City, building from the back.

now one of the reasons Pep Guardiola let Joe Hart leave the Etihad was that he wanted to use a keeper comfortable with the ball at his feet and who distributed the ball with care.

Pickford did not have the busiest of nights in the Johan Cruyff arena in terms of having to make saves but I was watching other parts of his game, which are just as important.

This was only his second international but he oozes confidence, which immediately transmits to the defenders in front of him.

I do like the shape Southgate is developing, a system, and three at the back is the way forward. He has changed the personnel with Gary Cahill and Chris Smalling not figuring. With John Stones, Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker as the back three and Pickford in goal, there was a newish look which I liked. It is the way ahead.

overall I was impressed by Pickford’s confidence — so important in a goalkeeper — and especially with his command around his area.

He seems comfortable with the ball at his feet, which has become so important in the modern game, and his distribution was excellent.

There were mistakes and a couple of moments of uncertainty, especially when the dutch came on to us more strongly in the second half.

There was a moment of weakness in the first half at a corner, when he came for a cross that he wasn’t going to get. His starting position was wrong — too far from his line — and mistakes like that can be costly. You need to be aware of exactly where you are to make those judgment calls. There was also the odd occasion when he was put under pressure by his own defenders. But on the other hand the pace of Walker helped him out a few times with through-balls. overall, however, I was impressed by Pickford’s performance. He may lack experience and at 24 he is still a young man. He will continue to improve. He has had only two England appearances and he has two clean sheets. You can’t better that.

Southgate has already said he will play Butland against Italy tomorrow and the comparisons will be interesting. He has a little more club experience than Pickford and the Wembley game will be his seventh international appearance.

Ideally, England would have an automatic choice in goal but on this occasion there are options to be examined, as there are in other outfield areas.

I was pleased with the way we defended in Holland and if the final ball had been better we might have had a bigger winning margin. That may improve if we get a fit Harry Kane and Jack Wilshere in russia. lPeter Shilton was speaking to Steve Curry.