England manager Thomas Tuchel is expected to hand James Trafford another opportunity in goal during the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches, according to a report in The Times.
Trafford set for another chance
England won three of their four Nations League outings across late September and early October, with their only defeat coming against Spain. The recently-crowned world champions beat England 3-2 at Wembley, with Trafford in goal for that fixture.
Trafford then kept a clean sheet in the away match against Czechia a few days later. The report indicates he will be given another chance to impress when international football returns this week.
Pickford remains number one
Tuchel has insisted that Jordan Pickford is still his number one goalkeeper, but the German is keen to test what Trafford can offer. When asked about the situation, Tuchel said: “No, he is [still No.1]. 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.”
Testing under pressure
The ex-Chelsea manager was asked how Pickford reacted to this, adding: “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.”
Upcoming fixtures
England's November international break begins at Wembley against Croatia on Thursday. The World Cup semi-finalists then travel to Spain for a meeting with the reigning champions on Sunday night.
