Rio Ferdinand hails Jordan Pickford’s performance against Germany and says the Everton goalkeeper looks more confident playing for England… while Jermaine Jenas praises the shot-stopper’s leadership
Rio Ferdinand believes Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is more confident in an England shirt and hailed his performance in the Three Lions’ victory over Germany.
Pickford is the only goalkeeper in the tournament who has not conceded a goal, with England keeping clean sheets in each of their three group games before their last 16 triumph.
While the shot-stopper had relatively little to do in the group stages, he was called up on in both halves against Germany.
Rio Ferdinand (left) beleives Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (right) is more confident when he plays for England
England’s No 1 made a number of important saves against Germany, including a 1v1 with Timo Werner
He first had to keep out Chelsea forward Timo Werner, who got in behind the England defence mid-way through the first half.
Werner’s angle was tight but Pickford did well to stand up and make a vital save with his legs.
It was another Chelsea man who Pickford had to deny at the start of the second half. Kai Havertz fired a fierce volley on goal from the edge of the box but the ‘keeper tipped his effort over the bar.
Thomas Muller came closest to scoring after Raheem Sterling had put England 1-0 ahead in the 75th minute. Muller was through on goal but Pickford made the angle tight and the German fired wide.
He also tipped over a fierce volley form Kai Havertz with the score at 0-0 in the second half
Ferdinand was impressed by Pickford’s composure and claimed he is a more calm figure when playing for his country.
‘I like Pickford because of his composure, for England this fella seems to grow, he seems more confident,’ said the BBC Sport pundit.
‘That’s something that has been a criticism in an Everton shirt but in an England shirt this fella seems to grow. He’s more confident, he controls situations, we saw the Thomas Muller chance he’s being tall and as long as he can.
‘This situation (a save from Kai Havertz) is a big moment of the game and these goalkeepers make saves at important times. In an England shirt, he has done that remarkably well.’
Jermaine Jenas was also full of praise for the shot-stopper, claiming he has been a reliable figure for Gareth Southgate.
He said: ‘For Jordan Pickford in an England shirt, he has not let Gareth Southgate down once which is why he continually plays him.
Pickford praised the performance of his defenders after they kept another clean sheet
‘You don’t win games like this under this pressure unless you have characters and leaders and players that turn up.’
Pickford was quick to praise his team-mates after the game but added that he is trainng hard to be an even better goalkeeper.
‘It was a brilliant performance from everyone on the pitch,’ he said. ‘Talk about the defence with the back, but it’s not just about them, it’s all XI, Harry Kane and the effort and desire of pressing was brilliant. Germany threw it all at us. We were resilient, we kept going.
‘I train hard all week to be the best I can be on a matchday when called upon. I thought I made two good saves. Tried to take the sting off the ball by coming for crosses and take the sting out of the game when we were 2-0 up.
‘I felt I was in the moment. We’ve got to keep building and get ready for Saturday. For me it was about giving it my all and 100 per cent on the training pitch.
‘Keep working hard and just doing everything right, not cutting corners, giving myself the opportunity when it comes to matchday to be fully prepared, fully focused, which I have been.
‘Just being the best Jordan Pickford I can be. That’s all I can do.’