Jordan Pickford vs Raul Jimenez record highlights consistent trend ahead of England vs Mexico World Cup clash
Jordan Pickford hasn't had the best of World Cups for England.
The Everton number one has made a habit of making headlines for all the right reasons while playing for his country.
However, DR Congo's early goal in England's 2-1 Round of 32 win on Wednesday saw Pickford criticised for conceding poorly at his near post.
Still, a Round of 16 clash against Mexico at Estadio Azteca is now pencilled in for the early hours of Monday, where Pickford will come to blows with a familiar adversary in Raul Jimenez.
And a closer look at the previous meetings between Pickford and Jimenez highlights a worryingly consistent pattern.
Raul Jimenez’s record against Jordan Pickford in full
Unfortunately for England fans, Jimenez will be relishing the chance to play against Pickford - and not because of the nature of the goal he conceded to DR Congo on Wednesday.
The 129-cap Mexico international has in fact scored six times in his 12 appearances against Pickford, with his most recent coming last year in the Premier League.
In his first five games against Everton, Jimenez scored in each match for Wolves, before notching his sixth versus Pickford last May while at Fulham.
However, last season saw Jimenez fail to score against Pickford in November and February, missing two big chances in the process and registering a combined xG of 0.78.
Despite firing blanks in those matches, only seven players have scored more Premier League goals than Jimenez, which is something that Thomas Tuchel and his Mexican counterpart Javier Aguirre will want to be aware of ahead of Monday's meeting in Mexico City.
But there's also another aspect of Jimenez's play that England - and especially Pickford - need to be wary of.
Jimenez’s perfect Premier League record adds extra World Cup concern
On top of the fact that he's consistently scored against Pickford in the Premier League, Jimenez is also a potent finisher from the penalty spot.
In fact, the Wolves striker has scored all 14 of his penalties in England's top flight, a 100 per cent record that isn't beaten by anyone.
And with the potential of a penalty shoot-out at the Azteca on Monday, England versus Mexico could end up being decided by Jimenez's record from the spot.
Out of the 14 penalties he's scored, one was against Everton and Pickford, when he scored in a 3-0 win for Wolves in December 2020.
But there's records of Pickford's that should be noted, as the Everton ace has saved more penalties than any other goalkeeper for the England national team.
He's also saved at least one penalty in each penalty shoot-out he's played in for the Three Lions.
One more positive stat also should be noted before England head to the Mexican capital.
The last time the Three Lions played against Mexico in the World Cup, they went on to win the whole thing in 1966.