Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is set to face a month on the sidelines after picking up a thigh injury during the Merseyside Derby on Saturday. He will miss games against Arsenal and West Ham as well as Nations League games against Italy and Germany. Pickford had a scan that revealed not too serious damage with the club confirming he will not return until the September international break.
“The decision over who starts in goal for England at the World Cup is less a cause for concern and more a topic of debate for Southgate. Pickford has had an iron grip on the No 1 shirt since the 2018 World Cup – so much so that Aaron Ramsdale, Nick Pope, and Dean Henderson have just 12 caps between them compared to the Everton ‘keeper’s 45,” Joe Shread said. “Southgate has stuck by Pickford even when successive Toffees managers have been forced to publicly answer questions over his form. In fairness to Pickford, Frank Lampard’s appointment as Everton manager appears to have led to an upturn in his performances. But the fact remains that he has recorded fewer clean sheets and conceded more goals than both Ramsdale and Pope since the start of last season.”
“With that in mind, perhaps England’s goalkeeper situation can be looked at in one of two ways,” he added. “It can be said that the Three Lions have an established No 1 in Pickford who has regained his mojo ahead of the World Cup – before his injury – and is ably backed up by Ramsdale, Pope, and Henderson; or it can be argued that the impressive performances of the Everton stopper’s deputies are creating doubt at the position at just the wrong time for England. For what it’s worth, Southgate is likely to take the former, more positive, view.”
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