Daniel Feliciano

Mon 5 December 2022 10:10, UK

Ally McCoist and Laura Woods would both have Everton ace Jordan Pickford over Tottenham star Hugo Lloris in a combined England and France XI.

The Toffees stopper kept a third consecutive clean sheet at the World Cup on Sunday (4 December) as England beat Senegal 3-0 to set up a mouth-watering showdown against France in the quarter-finals on Saturday (10 December).

When discussing the fixture on the talkSPORT breakfast show (5 December, 6:14am), Woods asked McCoist about a combined XI between the sides and the Rangers legend was quick to make some big selections, including having Pickford over Lloris.

“I’m taking all of the England midfield, I’m taking the England goalkeeper, for sure,” he said, and Woods agreed.

While the didn’t explicitly discuss defenders, they did disagree on the forward line with McCoist naming Ousmane Dembele alongside Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, while Woods went for Phil Foden instead of the Barcelona man.

Huge

Lloris is a legend among goalkeepers and has been a world class operator for both France and Tottenham for a very long time, but it’s hard to argue with this shout.

Pickford has been exceptional for England and Everton for years and during this tournament it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t been the stand-out stopper across all countries with three clean sheets in four games.

He’s made some huge saves too against Iran in the 6-2 win and most recently in the win over Senegal, keeping his side in a dominant position and helping them on their way to success.

Both Lloris and Pickford have come up against each other several times over the years, and it’s no surprise that Spurs are among the teams that have been interested in signing the ex-Sunderland man over the last 12 months, along with Chelsea.

The trajectory of their careers is going in opposite directions, and Pickford is now the more reliable and better goalkeeper of the two so it certainly shouldn’t be a call that is frowned upon.