The tables have turned on England number one Jordan Pickford, but the battle with James Trafford can bring out the best in the Everton goalkeeper. That is the verdict of former Blues striker Jermaine Beckford, who also turned out for Trafford's club Leeds United.
Pickford is the most-capped England player while with Everton, having turned out for the Three Lions 93 times and more than doubling the previous record held by Phil Jagielka (40). That figure tops the 92 appearances the legendary Neville Southall made for Wales, while the current Blues' No.1's tally of 18 World Cup appearances is also an all-time record for the Three Lions.
Moyes praise for Pickford
Speaking last month, Everton manager David Moyes declared how Pickford, who won Premier League Save of the Month for August for a record-extending fifth time following his stop to deny Crystal Palace's Eddie Nketiah on the opening weekend of the season, had returned from the 2026 finals at the peak of his powers.
The Blues boss said: "When Jordan came back from the World Cup, it might be the best I have ever seen him. He was lean, he was sharp, his footwork was brilliant, he was fast across the goal and if you look at some of the saves he has made between now and then he has made a couple of brilliant, brilliant saves."
Competition for places
However, during the last international break, Pickford and Trafford – who left Manchester City for Leeds in a £40m deal in July and is now playing regularly at Elland Road – were selected for a brace of matches each by England boss Thomas Tuchel.
Pickford has been undisputed first choice since making his debut in a goalless draw with Germany at Wembley on November 10, 2017, but with a home game against Croatia this Thursday before a trip to Spain on Sunday, Beckford believes the rivals can push each other on.
Speaking courtesy of FreeBets, home of the best uk betting sites, Beckford told the ECHO: "It's genuinely an interesting one. I quite like it.
"I like the competition for places and look, Jordan was in that exact same position almost a decade ago with the roles reversed. Joe Hart was in goal at the time, who was England's number one, and then this young, hungry, goalkeeper came in with not so much an ego but perhaps a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.
"Jordan believed in himself, trusted himself, knew his strengths and his abilities. Now we're a little bit further down the line and Jordan has done absolutely wonderful things, incredible things for the national team and for Everton as well.
"It's inevitable that you've got the best the best challenging you for your position. You know, James Trafford has been amazing for Leeds.
"He's played 10 games and in almost half of those, he's kept a clean sheet. But not only that, his ball distribution and even in the games where Leeds have conceded, he's been special.
"Last month in the goalless draw against Sunderland, he made a couple of phenomenal saves, a couple of one-on-ones against Brian Brobbey, who is, for me is an unbelievable striker in the Premier League as well. James shows bravery, his distribution is very good and he's got youth on his side.
"I like the fact that they were both afforded time in the last England camp, a couple of games each because it shows that we know both of you are excellent goalkeepers and we're going to play you off against each other a little bit. We're going to push you both to get the best for us as a collective."
