Jamie Redknapp would drop Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for England World Cup opener v Iran
Jamie Redknapp has admitted that he would drop Everton ace Jordan Pickford as England number one and start Nick Pope in the World Cup opener against Iran.
Pickford has been established as the national team’s number one for years under Gareth Southgate, with his performances at international level helping the team to a World Cup semi-final and European Championship final in the last two tournaments.
But with Everton really struggling this season in the Premier League, and Newcastle and Arsenal flying at the top of the table, Redknapp told Sky Sports (13 November) that he wouldn’t start Pickford in goal.
“I’m picking this team for the first day of the tournament. I just prefer Pope and Ramsdale to Pickford,” he admitted.
Pickford was however selected to start in goal by the rest of the panel which included Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Karen Carney, and is expected to be picked by Southgate too.
Form
There is that old saying that form is temporary and class is permanent, but that surely can’t apply here because Pickford’s form generally has been good too.
Granted he made a glaring error at the weekend when Bournemouth claimed a comfortable win, but it can’t be disputed by anyone who has watched the team regularly this season that Everton would be far worse off without him.
His distribution is first class, his reflexes are good, he’s vocal and a leader and Southgate clearly believes in him too, making him the perfect first-choice goalkeeper.
Competition is a good thing and will likely bring the best out of all the goalkeepers in the squad, but Pickford has done nothing that should see him lose his spot at the front of the queue for this tournament.
That isn’t taking anything away from Pope and Ramsdale either, who have been great, but Pickford shouldn’t be punished for Everton’s poor performances when his own individual form has been good too and he deserves to start.