Pickford points to decision-making as 1966 record in sight

Jordan Pickford could be part of another recordbreaking England backline tonight as he singled out his decisionmaking as his biggest improvement in recent months.

If the Three Lions can avoid conceding during their World Cup qualifier in Poland, they will register their 12th clean sheet of the calendar year, one more than they achieved in 1966 – their current best.

During Euro 2020, the Everton goalkeeper surpassed Gordon Banks’ previous record of 720 minutes without conceding for his country.

“I’m getting older, I’m maturing,” the 27-yearold said. “I’m a lot more experienced as well. Everything is a learning curve. It’s all about improving day to day and being consistent.

“I think the biggest thing is decision-making – making the right pass at the right time, if it’s a counter-attack or whether I need to take the sting out of the game and give the lads a breather.”

Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate warned against complacency as in-form England attempt to all but secure World Cup qualification in Poland.

“It’s been a lot more straightforward than last September was, that’s for certain,” the England manager said reflecting on a time when Harry Maguire’s Greek court case was compounded by Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden being sent home.

“Look, as a team, we have to recognise that we’re in a good moment and the team are playing well. There’s a squad of players, any of whom are more than comfortable coming into the side and playing well when they’re coming into the team.

“But also those moments can be dangerous because if we get any sense of complacency then we’re going into a game where we’ll be really challenged and this is a big opportunity for us.

“We can really take a positive step towards the World Cup if we win in Warsaw, so it’s a high level of motivation but also guarding against any feeling that we were better than we are.

“We’re having a good run of results because we’re working hard for each other, because without the ball we’re very, very disciplined and that sets the tone for our game.”

Gareth Bale insists Wales are focused on upsetting Belgium and winning their World Cup qualifying group.

Belgium, the world’s number one ranked team, lead the way in Group E with 13 points from five games and have so far scored 20 goals in qualification.

Wales are seven points adrift of Roberto Martinez’s Red Devils with two games in hand and welcome bottomplaced Estonia to the Cardiff City Stadium tonight.

“We’re fully focused on trying to win the group,” said Bale. “If we win every game, we qualify. In a way, it’s still in our hands but there’s a long way to go.

“We can’t look two months down the line.”

Jordan Pickford is aiming for a record clean sheet.