Pickford: Put spotkick pain behind us
FORMER SUNDERLAND KEEPER REFLECTS ON AGONY OF ENGLAND U21S’ SEMI-FINAL KO
Ex-Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford has called on England Under-21s to harness their penalty pain and return stronger for Euro 2019 – or gatecrash the senior squad.
The Young Lions crashed out of the European Championship 4-3 on penalties after an enthralling semi-final against Germany had ended 2-2 in Tychy on Tuesday. New Everton signing Pickford, along with Nathan Redmond, captain James WardProwse and Nathaniel Chalobah, ended his Under-21 careers in Poland, while others will have another shot at European glory in two years’ time.
“We’re all disappointed, but we have a lot of lads who will have the chance to come again to the tournament in two years and then there’s others like myself who have to try and kick on and get in the senior squad,” said the 23-year-old from Washington (pictured).
“Everybody is going to be hungry. We all want to get better as a group and individually. We did ourselves proud even though we didn’t get to the final.
“As a group of lads and the staff, we’ve stuck together from day one and it just wasn’t to be in the penalty shoot-out.
“We’ve done our bit and that’s all we could have done.”
Looking back on the penalty drama, in which he made the first save, Pickford, who joined Everton for £30million from Sunderland earlier this month, added: “It’s always going to be difficult to take.
“Penalty shoot-outs are never a nice way to lose and on another day we might have won it.
“During 90 minutes, I thought we were the dominant side, especially during the first half.
“We were a bit tired towards the end, but we dug in and we’ve said all along we’re a strong group of lads who are there to help each other when it’s going hard. it was unfortunate.”
Demarai Gray, who turned 21 yesterday after scoring against Germany, is already looking forward to having another bid for glory at Euro 2019 in Italy and San Marino.
“It’ll be nice,” the Leicester winger said. “It’s a great tournament, my first major tournament, and I’ve enjoyed every minute.
“I feel like having the tournament off the back of the season is good and you can express yourselves. It’s good for you and your development.”
Nathan Redmond – whose penalty was saved by Julian Pollersbeck to confirm England’s exit – left the ground in tears, but Ward-Prowse has backed his Southampton colleague to recover.
He said: “It’s difficult at the time. Nathan is a very close friend of mine and a team-mate at club level as well. It’s important for him to learn from this experience.
“I know his mindset and I know this experience will make him stronger as a person and as a footballer. He is a good friend and he’ll grow from this.”
Redmond has apologised for his penalty miss and vowed to conquer the “mental and physical challenge that lies ahead”.
Redmond posted on Twitter, saying: “Gutted to have lost in the semi-finals last night on pens! Sorry. I’ll continue to keep learning from these experiences and trying to improve as a player every day as usual. There’s work to do & I’m ok with that mental and physical challenge that lies ahead.
“Anyone that knows me well enough they know I’m forever proud to wear the 3 lions shirt on my chest. It’s sad to close a chapter on my England youth team football in that way but I’ve gained more than I’ve lost from the U16s right through to the U21s.
“A lot of special memories soonthatnoteI’dliketothank every single manager, coach, medical staff, kit-men, security guards and players that I worked with that helped me learn and grow as a person and a player.”