David Moyes will want to see Jordan Pickford dominating his penalty area for Everton next season like he did in England’s World Cup win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
That’s the verdict of former Arsenal striker Alan Smith after the Blues goalkeeper produced a heroic display in Thomas Tuchel’s side’s backs-to-the-wall 3-2 success following Jarell Quansah’s sending off in the 54th minute.
Pickford came for, and punched away, a string of crosses as England held out to secure a quarter-final showdown against Erling Haaland’s Norway in Miami on Saturday night.
Pickford's International Form
Alan Smith reckons the 32-year-old should adopt a similar approach back in the Premier League. Speaking courtesy of BestBettingSites.co.uk, the 63-year-old, who won a brace of League Championships with Arsenal, plus the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup-Winners’ Cup, netting 115 goals in 351 games, told the ECHO: “I think there’s always been an impression with Jordan that he’s performed better for country than club, and that (display in Mexico) was one of his finest, wasn’t it?
“Under the circumstances, he was so decisive with his catching and punching. David Moyes might say, well, we’ll have a bit more of that. But there’s no question he’s one of the top keepers. And when it comes to the big occasion for England, he’s usually there.”
Travers Linked with Coventry Move
Pickford’s consistency has been such that his Everton understudy Mark Travers was restricted to just a brace of Carabao Cup outings last season following his move from Bournemouth. The Republic of Ireland international is now being linked with a potential transfer to Premier League new boys Coventry City, who won the Championship last season under Frank Lampard.
Halifax-born Carl Rushworth, on-loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, was ever-present for the Sky Blues in 2025/26 and asked whether replacing him with Travers would be a gamble, Smith said: “Yeah, with keepers, maybe it’s not such a big thing.
“He’s been understudy to Jordan Pickford, hasn’t he? He also had that loan spell at Middlesbrough, which he’d have been pleased about. He’s shown he can do it in the Premier League when he was at Bournemouth, you know. He played a lot of games for them there.
“So, the track record, the quality is there, I think, and he’ll be anxious to be starting matches regularly now. So yeah, I don’t think it would be a massive gamble, to be honest.”
