Jordan Pickford and his Everton defence were all at sea as Chelsea scored six unanswered goals on Monday night.

Sam Stone

Tue 6 September 2022 9:10, UK

Andy Goldstein was in awe of Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and insisted that there is “no doubt” that he is England’s number one for the World Cup.

Pickford pulled off a string of fine saves for the Toffees in their Merseyside Derby stalemate against Liverpool at Goodison Park on Saturday (3 September).

His performance against Jurgen Klopp’s side has ensured he should be England’s number one according to Goldstein.

Talking on talkSPORT [6 August], the Drive host said: “I think maybe in the last 18 months people have questioned whether or not he will be England’s number one for the World Cup and whether he will be if Everton don’t perform or are in the bottom three.

“After that game [against Liverpool] there is no doubt in my mind that he is England’s number one.”

Guaranteed

Pickford’s form towards the back end of last season and the start of the 2022/23 campaign has certainly silenced a number of critics.

Furthermore, he has never failed England when occupying the number one shirt and was incredibly unlucky not to have steered the Three Lions to a European Championship victory in the summer of 2021.

There have always been questions about Pickford’s temperament and how he is capable of a moment of madness every now and then.

That often clouds some of the exceptional saves and moments that he has in games, with his performance against Liverpool one of the Toffees’ standout displays of the season so far.

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman also called Pickford’s display against Liverpool “outstanding”.

It’s highly likely that the Pickford will be Gareth Southgate’s go-to keeper for the Qatar World Cup which is only a matter of months away.

Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale are potentially threats to Pickford’s number one jersey, but the Everton man’s all-round game puts him in pole position.

Pope is an excellent shot-stopper and Ramsdale has superb distribution, but Pickford is a combination of both and has been trusted be Southgate in the past.