Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Jordan Pickford will remain England's No.1 goalkeeper, even though he is considering rotating his goalkeepers again this month. Pickford is facing serious competition for the first time in eight years, with James Trafford having started against Spain and the Czech Republic during the last international break.
The Everton star was restored to England's starting line-up for the game against Croatia and the return leg against the Czech Republic, but he could once again find himself on the bench. Tuchel is open to the idea of giving Trafford and Pickford a game each for the Nations League double header with Croatia and Spain this week.
Tuchel confirms Pickford's status
When asked whether Pickford is still his No.1, Tuchel confirmed: "No, he is. But nothing has changed. The competition is on there as well. Like for the outfield players. And Traff gets regular starts now, that's what we wanted."
"James Trafford did well. They shared the matches last time. I'm not sure what we will do. There's an opportunity that we maybe do this again. I have to speak with our goalkeeper coach. But the goalkeepers, they are a bit of a unit for themselves, and rightly so."
Pickford's reaction praised
Tuchel also revealed that Pickford was 'surprisingly' understanding about sharing keeper duties in the Nations League last time, and he believes it is important Trafford gets proper game time and exposure to international football.
The German said: "Yes it's slightly different, but when do I have a chance to see another goalkeeper, if not in Nations League? If not in high pressure matches? So we had James against Spain, we asked ourselves is this fair for James Trafford to straightaway go against Spain, but I think it's exactly what we need. Because what happens if Jordan Pickford is injured? What happens if he's not available? So it's better to test it."
"Jordan knows about this. We want to use the Nations League for exactly that. But at the moment, nothing has changed. At the moment, he's the number one. And he just feels a bit of competition. Which is good for him."
"Surprisingly.... I was very impressed and a bit surprised by Jordan's reaction when we spoke to him. I thought he'd be less of a fan than he proved to be. Because he said he totally understands it. Listen, they all want to get their caps."
"The goalkeepers know: if I'm out, I'm out. I have almost no chance to come in. As an outfield player you can accept it a little bit better because after 60 minutes you still have a chance to get your cap. Which you can't as a goalkeeper. But he impressed me a lot last time. We spoke to him, it was a very short conversation. It was very positive. He said 'yeah, let's do this, Traff deserves it, and I will push him'."
"And he didn't change at all. If he changed, he changed even to the positive, he pushed Traff, he gave him a good feeling. So very impressive, he did it very well."
Trafford's ambition
Speaking on Football Daily's The Football Interview last week, Trafford warned Pickford that he believes that if he continues his impressive performances with Leeds United, then he has every chance of becoming England's No.1.
"It's my aim and it's something I've always dreamed of," the former Manchester City man said. "I always believe that one day I could be. Every day I try to keep improving to put myself in the best position to be England's number one one day. I think everyone in the goalkeeping department with the national team wants to be number one because it's an amazing position to be in."
