Everton: Chris Sutton criticises Jordan Pickford for one moment at World Cup
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is on his way back to England after the Three Lions were dumped out of the World Cup by France.
Despite keeping three clean sheets in five matches – against the USA, Wales and Senegal – Chris Sutton believes the 28-year-old made one critical error that contributed to the end of the dream for 2022.
Writing ins his Daily Mail column, former Premier League striker Sutton claimed that the Toffees number one should have saved Aurelien Tchouameni’s thunderous opener in the quarter-final.
“Though I think he could have saved Aurelien Tchouameni’s shot, Pickford had a steady World Cup overall as England’s first-choice goalkeeper. No clangers of note from the Everton man,” he said.
Gareth Southgate stood by his number one shot-stopper all tournament long with Aaron Ramsdale of Arsenal and Nick Pope of Newcastle not getting a minute during the competition in Qatar.
Invalid opinion
Sutton can say plenty about strikers and possibly central defenders too having played against many of them back in the day but he has never been a goalkeeper and therefore his opinion on Pickford has no substantiation.
He does not know how tough it is to be the man with the gloves and how any tiny error leads to a goal even if his son, Olly, does play as a goalkeeper in the deep depths of non-league football.
This only moves to highlight the lack of goalkeepers as pundits or guest writers in the media right now with every outlook on the beautiful game coming from an outfielder.
That’s just unfair on the goalkeeper’s union who get criticised for everything by people who have no idea what it takes to be in that position.
Luckily for Everton and England, Pickford won’t be at all interested in what Sutton or any pundit has to say about him or his performances and he will return to Goodison Park in tip-top form as per usual.