It would not be a big international tournament without England fans skipping the team and believing that the injured years would finally end.
In fairness, when you look at the attacking talents at Gareth Southgate’s disposal, it’s hard to argue with such a theory, but only decent forwards will not win you tournaments.
The rear competence of the three lions has been the elephant in the room for a number of years now.
Like John Stones and Kyle Walker, both can see quality defenders in their day, but equally, both have proven incapable of stringing a set of performances without error.
Jordan Pickford is no different and it is perhaps no surprise that the topic of who will wear England’s top jersey at Euro 2020 was discussed regularly in the structure of the tournament.
Talk about Nick Pope (before his injury) and Dean Henderson circulating for a while, but still we all knew Southgate would stay true to Pickford and so far the Everton man has not put a foot wrong.
Jordan Pickford could be key to England’s chances on Tuesday / Robin Jones / Getty Images
Critics will argue that Pickford has not really been tested and therefore it is a bit too early to sing his praises – a perfectly fair comment given that he has only saved five shots in three games – but goalkeeping coaches will often tell you the most difficult the part of cementing your place as the top team’s top goalkeeper is keeping concentration.
If you get balls pumped into the box and shots at you every few minutes mean you are constantly on your toes, but when you spend a lot of the game as a passenger you are much more open to stupid concentration losses – an aspect of Pickford’s game that made that his position as England’s foremost was questioned.
So far, Toffee’s shot-stopper has not made any such mistakes, while the few shots he has been given to save have been handled comfortably.
Pickford is not a bad goalkeeper at all, but it is no secret that he is Southgate’s favorite choice due to his ability to keep the ball at his feet.
Jordan Pickford’s distribution has long been hailed / Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
This does not suit some football fans and to be completely honest we see their point completely – you choose the goalkeeper who puts the ball in the net to put it in the words of a layman, right?
However, the Three Lions face old enemies Germany at Wembley on Tuesday and Pickford’s skills in ball games could prove to be an important asset.
First of all, with Thomas Müller’s work frequency and Serge Gnabry’s pace expected to be in Germany’s top three, the England goalkeeper will probably be put under a lot of pressure when the ball is played into him. The last thing you want is someone panicking about the ball and likely making a mess of it as soon as the forwards apply any pressure.
Secondly, one of Die Mannschaften’s main strengths is their progressive wingbacks, with their best showing of the tournament so far against Portugal when Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens basically ran the show.
Jordan Pickford must be in top form against Germany / Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Said style of play obviously has its pitfalls, one of which will leave a lot of space behind on the wings. If England can get the ball to their fast men fast enough, the veteran German defender Mats Hummels can be left exposed.
Suddenly, Pickford’s distribution could be the key to the game if he can release Raheem Sterling and co. while Kimmich and Gosens are still up in the field – we have always liked these ball-playing goalkeepers.
The talk about Pickford’s distribution is good and good, but first and foremost his job is to keep a clean sheet, and given his performance at Euro 2020 so far, we have no reason why he can not do so against Germany on Tuesday.
