Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford decison made by Gareth Southgate for England v Australia
Gareth Southgate has made his decision on whether or not he will start Everton goalkeeper in the England v Australia friendly, according to Mike McGrath.
The Telegraph journalist reported on Friday (13 October) that Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone will be in goal for the game at Wembley.
The Three Lions face Italy after this and Southgate appears to be resting players for that game.
Via Twitter, McGrath wrote, “Sam Johnstone set to start for England tonight vs Australia, reward for consistent season at CPFC. Gareth Southgate to rest some for next week.”
Makes sense
Pickford is Southgate’s undisputed number one and has been that way for the past few years and will be expected to during the EUROs as well.
It’s good to pick Johnstone in the eleven as he’ll get an idea of how good he is with the best players in the country and whether or not he can be the backup keeper.
The Three Lions have a number of talented players in that position and it remains to be seen how Johnstone handles the pressure.
Pickford has proven in the past that he can be a reliable option for Southgate and the head coach probably must be trusting him more than any other player in his team along with Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
He’s also been an important asset for Everton and the Toffees surely will do everything they can to retain the 29-year-old’s services.
If they get relegated, most teams in the Premier League would jump at the opportunity to sign him because that’s how good he is.
In other Everton news, a condition has now emerged on Sean Dyche being sacked amid trouble behind the scenes at Goodison Park.