Chris Sutton suggests Jordan Pickford was wasting his time as England send Wales home
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford didn’t need to be on the pitch for the first half of England’s win over Wales, according to Chris Sutton.
Despite a stale opening 45 minutes on Tuesday night (29 November) the Three Lions ultimately recorded a comfortable 3-0 win to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup, on the strength of goals from Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden.
Pickford was barely involved, as Rob Page’s side only recorded one shot on target, with the Everton number one’s most memorable contribution a theatrical dive for a shot that was in no danger of troubling his goal.
Sutton gave him a six for his performance, given that there was barely anything to it for him to rate, and suggested the 28-year-old could have better filled his time before the break.
In his Daily Mail player ratings he said: “Should’ve brought a magazine with him to read in the first half. Didn’t have anything else to do!
“Never in danger of conceding the four goals that Wales needed. Stayed alert in the second half to keep his clean sheet.”
Comfortable
It was the kind of performance that managers would like their keepers to have every game, but judging by his dive in the direction of Joe Allen’s first half shot Pickford himself would have liked something to do.
Gareth Southgate’s side bounced back from the dull goalless draw against the USA on Friday (25 November) to advance, with Senegal waiting in the last-16.
But Idrissa Gueye will miss his country’s first knockout game in two decades through suspension after picking up a booking in the 2-1 win over Ecuador earlier on Tuesday.
The clash guarantees that Frank Lampard will see one of his players in Qatar heading home soon, with the prospect of Pickford and Conor Coady joining training sooner rather than later if England are knocked out.
Pickford continues to be linked to a move away from the club, with Chelsea [Fabrizio Romano, 21 November] and Tottenham [TEAMtalk, 8 November] both interested.
The Toffees boss and supporters will hope he sticks around for the foreseeable future, and would also be pretty pleased to see him have a few games at club level like the one he had in Qatar on Tuesday.
Any psychological boosts that come as a result of success at the World Cup wouldn’t go amiss either, with the club returning to action after Christmas on the back of a bad run of form.