Before Thomas Tuchel took charge, there were probably four England players who appeared to be undroppable: Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. That soon became three when Tuchel made it clear that Bellingham - Real Madrid royalty or not - would have to fight Morgan Rogers for his place in the starting line-up.
Tuchel's praise of Bellingham following his excellent performance against Croatia was suitably generous. But he made sure to give Rogers, who appeared as a 72nd minute substitute for Declan Rice, a serious name-check as well.
There is no doubt the threat of Rogers, an old friend, starting ahead of him inspired Bellingham. That sort of threat does not apply to Kane and Rice, but after what appeared to be an in-game spat with his goalkeeper, the same might not be the case with Pickford.
Combined with the implied criticism from Tuchel's right-hand man, Anthony Barry, at half-time, it is now clear Pickford is not undroppable. Fox Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves reported that Tuchel said to Pickford: “You know what you’re supposed to do - do as I told you.”
At the break, Barry said: “We made some decisions when the energy wasn’t free in our minds, playing long when we should have played short and playing short when we should have played long. No threaded passes to accelerate the game.”
Barry's use of the word "nervous" was also relevant. There has long been a discussion about the Everton keeper's unique energy in big games and whether it transmits to his defenders.
While Barry might have been making a general observation, it is clear Pickford would have been one of the targets of that criticism.
And the Opta statistics would back that up:
- In the first half, Pickford attempted 10 long passes and completed just two (20%).
- In the second half, Pickford attempted nine long passes and completed five (55.6%).
- In the whole game, a third (34.5%) of his passing attempts were long - and of those, just 36.8% found a team-mate.
Under Gareth Southgate, 49% of Pickford's passes were long. Under Tuchel, 29.6% have been long. In the game against Croatia, 34.6% of Pickford's passes were long.
It is clear Tuchel makes stringent demands on his keeper. Even before Tuchel took charge of his first match, there were whispers from his camp that England's goalkeeping was one area he thought needed rejuvenation.
Tuchel officially started his England job on January 1, 2025. In October 2024, various reports suggested Pickford would face a fight to hold on to his unchallenged number one status.
In the summer of last year, while being highly complimentary of Pickford, Tuchel said he fully expected James Trafford and Dean Henderson to challenge the Everton keeper for the England starting slot.
And even though his opportunities back at Manchester City were immediately limited by the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Trafford is shaping up to be the main rival for Pickford, who now has 85 caps. Trafford has been excellent in his chances at City and made his full England debut in March.
A couple of pundits thought Pickford might have done better for Croatia's first goal - a strike from Martin Baturina - and Troy Deeney went even further when appearing on CBS Sports, saying England “can’t win the World Cup with Jordan Pickford.”
Criticism would appear to be like water off a duck's back for Pickford. When he was asked about handling it last season, he replied: “It's about just being mentally strong. Everyone knows what I've done for England in the shirt, the only thing I've not done is win a trophy, so that's the aim in the summer.”
Deeney's verdict is extremely harsh. But it is not harsh to say that Pickford is now definitely not undroppable. It would be a huge, huge gamble, but it cannot be ruled out.
