We love Jordan Pickford and here’s why!

In football, it often happens that a player performs consistently well and yet still comes under criticism.

For an English team that continues to underperform, it was the ever-reliable Jordan Pickford who helped secure a place in the semi-finals of the 2024 European Championship.

Pickford has been England’s first-choice goalkeeper for years and always seems to face unnecessary criticism from fans and pundits who seem to have a personal grudge against him. Since making his England debut seven years ago, Pickford has made 66 appearances for his country, keeping 31 clean sheets.

He gives the impression of a man who enjoys the challenge of being England’s best goalkeeper and his antics and emotions during penalty shootouts have won him many fans – both English and foreign.

His record in penalty shootouts, an aspect of knockout football that plagued England for decades, places him at the top of the list of the best English goalkeepers of all time.

Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

Pickford has saved a penalty in every shoot-out for England in which he has been on the field as goalkeeper and his record at major tournaments is four penalties saved in fourteen, including his decisive save in the shoot-out victory over Switzerland on Saturday.

His teammates scored five perfect goals to get the job done from that perspective, but Pickford was on hand to parry Manuel Akanji’s first attempt and set up a crucial win.

England has not always been the most watchable team under Gareth Southgate.

We have tended to play it too safe at times, but Southgate has taken us to three semi-finals and one final in that time. Many players have moved on, but since the 2018 World Cup, Pickford has been almost always there.

English goalkeepers often come under heavy criticism, with their performances even being slammed by their own fans. During the dry spell following David Seaman’s retirement, several goalkeepers were nominated, but few seemed good enough to be worthy of the role.

The only English manager Pickford has played for is Southgate and it must be said that he has never let his manager or his country down.

Photo by Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

After many mediocre goalkeepers, Pickford was a breath of fresh air and brings a lot to an English team that often consists of many young players.

What makes it all even better is the fact that he was trained at Sunderland many years ago and was given his debut by David Moyes, which was one of the Scot’s better decisions.

Pickford will be at the top of English football for many years to come and one can only hope that at some point he will get the chance to play for a more successful club (sorry, Everton).

His place as England’s number one seems almost certain for now and, unless drastic events occur, one might think that he would at least be among the goalkeepers for the 2026 World Cup.