Once upon a time, in the not too dim-and-distant past, there was widespread criticism of Everton's Jordan Pickford from many other parts of the country, but tonight he begins his third consecutive World Cup as England number one with many saying he can become his country's best ever goalkeeper.
As a Blue, you know that you're doing well when even former Liverpool players are singing your praises. Earlier this week, David James, who played in goal for the Three Lions 53 times himself, including at the 2010 World Cup, said: "In terms of England goalkeepers, Jordan Pickford is kind of like 1.2. Gordon Banks is still number one because he's the only England goalkeeper with a World Cup winner's medal. Jordan has come very close, having played in a couple of major finals, and he's the only other England goalkeeper to have played in a major tournament final. So, he's right up there. What I love about Jordan is that he's been fantastic for England throughout every tournament."
Scott Carson and Kevin Phillips Join Praise
When speaking to BetVictor, Scott Carson added: "The biggest thing about consistency is that Jordan hasn't made many mistakes for England. He's never trying to do too much when there have been games where he hasn't been involved much. Sometimes as a goalkeeper when you've not had a lot to do, you want to do something and you end up causing more problems than it's worth. Jordan Pickford has a lot of experience now and he just does his job. What you want as an England goalkeeper is to just be steady. He's also got a really good record with penalties and I think there's no better keeper than Jordan right now."
Those sentiments have now been echoed by another former Premier League star and England international, Kevin Phillips. The retired striker, who played alongside David Seaman on international duty, said: "For me, he could potentially go on to be the best England goalkeeper of all time."
England Superfan Agrees
Even England superfan Andy Milne, a.k.a. 'That World Cup guy,' concurs. Asked to choose between Pickford and Seaman, he told Betfair: "That's an interesting one. I think most people would expect me to say David Seaman. But when you look at the record over recent years, Jordan Pickford wins on all accounts."
Indeed, Pickford already has an outstanding pedigree. The 32-year-old goes into his third World Cup finals on 84 caps and has passed the totals of David Seaman and Joe Hart (both 75) to become the country's most capped goalkeeper after Peter Shilton, who retains England's overall international appearance record on 125.
Penalty Shootout Heroics
Unlike Shilton, who unfortunately didn't get close to any of West Germany's efforts at Italia '90 as Bobby Robson's side missed out on a place in the World Cup final, Pickford has saved at least one penalty in each of four shoot-outs with the Three Lions, including two in the European Championship final against Italy in 2021 and he even scored the pressure fifth kick in a 6-5 victory over Switzerland in 2019. He has also already broken Shilton's record for the most clean sheets for an England goalkeeper in major tournaments (he is currently on 12).
Unfair Criticism Dismissed
Despite what others might suggest, in all of this lengthy tenure, he officially hasn't been at fault for conceding a single goal in a competitive match according to statisticians, with Opta deeming that the only such mistake came on his 60th appearance on March 24 2024, in a friendly against Belgium. Yet, a certain so-called pundit for a major media outlet gave Pickford a 3 out of 10 player rating for "failing to do anything special with the ball at his feet," in England's 1-0 away win over Andorra in a World Cup qualifier on June 7 last year. If that wasn't enough, the same individual plunged to new 'Shock Jock' depths by 'awarding' the Everton ace just 1/10 for his display in the 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in Thomas Tuchel's side's final pre-tournament friendly last Wednesday.
Such baseless nitpicking and skewed agendas towards Pickford have been dubbed "a witch hunt" by both Neville Southall and the late Kevin Campbell. Another unsubstantiated claim about the Washington-born player when his haters realise they have no material to actually go off, is that he somehow doesn't replicate his international form at club level.
Club Form Excellent
Such nonsense was trotted out by Alan Pardew only 12 months ago when suggesting Pickford shouldn't be England number one, yet those Evertonians who watch him in action on a weekly basis know otherwise. The Blues fan favourite was again imperious on many occasions for them throughout 2025/26. He won the Microsoft Goalkeeper Performance of the Season award for the best individual display in the Premier League after the 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in Everton's first competitive game at Hill Dickinson Stadium, which included a penalty save from Danny Welbeck. He also received the prize for the Coca-Cola Save of the Season for his stunning late stop to keep out a fierce volley from Sandro Tonali in the 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at St James' Park.
Silverware Ambition
There is something still missing from Pickford's personal collection of gongs though and James has already alluded to it. Following Harry Kane's subsequent brace of Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and Marc Guehi's pair of FA Cups with Crystal Palace and Manchester City, the goalkeeper is the member of England's starting line-up from the last European Championship final, not to have won a major honour. Whether that comes with a World Cup or indeed European Championship on international duty, or by helping to end the longest silverware drought in Everton's history, that has to be the burning ambition now for Pickford before he hangs up his gloves. He's the Blues best in his position since the aforementioned Southall, who was Everton's most decorated player, yet never got the chance to perform on a global stage with Wales. If Pickford was to lift a trophy with both club and country, then Everton chiefs should be looking to erect statues of him AND Southall outside their waterfront home in the years ahead.
