MAN IN THE MOMENT...
Pickford: Players have to seize the day Winks spurred on to seal a midfield slot for England
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SINCE his days as an eightyear-old at the Sunderland academy, Jordan Pickford has always grabbed his chance.
And after watching fellow Everton star Andre Gomes scream in agony after suffering the horror injury every footballer fears, England goalkeeper Pickford is more determined than ever to seize the moment.
Following qualification for the finals, Pickford has his sights set on victory in a tournament that gives the Three Lions a massive home advantage.
The gruesome fracture of Gomes’ ankle brought home the careerthreatening dangers faced by players every game they play.
For Pickford – who saw team-mate James Mccarthy suffer a shocking double leg-break right in front of him in January 2018 – the latest reminder of football’s perils has hardened his desire to be an England winner as soon as possible.
“You never know what life is going to bring tomorrow,” said the Goodison No.1. “Every day is a new day and you have to take opportunities when they are there, because you never know what’s around the corner.
“I’m injury- free but the likes of Andre, James and Seamus Coleman, who suffered a terrible injury playing for the Republic of Ireland, haven’t had the best of luck.
“James Mccarthy’s injury was right in front of me and it was horrific. Andre’s wasn’t nice either. I didn’t really see the extent of it from my goal but all the lads said it was horrific.”
Pickford isn’t in Gareth Southgate’s England leadership group – but his growing maturity was evident in the way he supported Tottenham’s Heungmin Son after the Korean’s tackle on Gomes. I’d like to think I’m a bit of leader and I tried to help Sonny for Spurs because I didn’t think that he meant to do it,” he said.
Strides
“I was just asking if he was alright and putting an arm round people, that’s what football is for.
“It just shows you can’t take anything for granted. You’ve got to do your best each game and, going into the summer, that means getting some silverware with England. You have to take the chance when it comes.”
Pickford is convinced the disappointment the squad felt when losing in the World Cup semi-finals in Russia in 2018 will be the spur for success.
“The World Cup was my first major tournament and not getting to the final
HARRY WINKS is ready to take his Euro 2020 audition and become Gareth Southgate’s main man in midfield.
The Tottenham midfielder, 23, is set to win his sixth cap against Kosovo tonight, and they have won every time he has started for his country.
It is no coincidence either as Winks (left) clearly gives England a different way of playing, and yet the fierce competition for midfield places means he has to keep pushing himself.
He said: “There’s a lot of competition at the moment in this group and everyone is performing so well for their clubs. So, in in the end was a huge disappointment,” he said. “But we made huge strides as a team and those disappointments in Russia can hopefully spur us on going into the Euros.
“We know how hard competition football is but we learned from what happened in Russia, and then the Nations League was another learning curve.
“We have experience of it all now. As a group, we did everything we could have done apart from getting that second goal against Croatia.
“We prepared well. Everything we did leading up to Russia was perfect and our fitness was very good.
“It’s all about getting better by one or two per cent to give yourself the best chance of success. We want to put smiles on faces.” some respects, it’s a good thing because you feel like you have to always be on top of your game.
“That’s only a positive for both myself, the club and the country as well. Because, obviously, I want to improve and want to help others improve as well.
“There are so many players pushing for positions and places, and as long as I stay on top of my game and as long as everybody else does, it will be a good selection problem for the gaffer and hopefully we can make that as difficult as possible for him.
“Every time I get the opportunity to play for my club and country, it’s important that I can put in a positive performance because, first and foremost,
I want to play in this team and I want to do myself as much justice as possible.”
It is a measure of how highly Southgate rates Winks that he is picking him despite the midfielder losing his place at Spurs in recent games, even being left at home for the Champions League trip to Red Star Belgrade.
But Winks says he has not spoken to Mauricio Pochettino about being left out and intends to win his place back at White Hart Lane.
Winks said: “I never spoke to the manager about why I was left out, but I assumed it was a tactical decision and, you know, it was the manager’s decision and of course I respect that.“