For Jordan Pickford, it has been quite the week. The goalkeeper of England, on Tuesday, played an instrumental role in propelling the Three Lions to their first ever World Cup penalty shootout victory. As he pulled off of save to keep Sweden at bay in his side’s quarter-final victory they saw him emerge as a hero once more.
It was Pickford’s acrobatic skills that ensured the win was a comfortable one. He managed to deny Marcus Berg on two occasions, first diving to his left to tip a goal-bound header round the post and then once again reaching up instinctively to palm a snapshot over the bar. Pickford has joined Sunderland’s Academy when he was only eight, with signing his first contract, a full-time contract in 2011, but went out on loan to lower league sides for first-team experience.
Those experiences have helped to make him the player that he is today, says the modest keeper. Despite thriving in that shootout win over Colombia, the Budweiser Man of the Match from England’s quarter-final win would always pick shutouts over penalty drama.
Pickford added on the victory over Sweden: “The highlight of that was the clean sheet, but it’ll go on my mantelpiece, that one, it’s about
keeping performing and getting better, and the more games you play, the better you become. This is where I want to be. I just want to be playing in the biggest matches against big teams. I just keep myself level-headed and do my best for the team. I wasn’t born the last time England reached a World Cup semi-final. We have always said we would it take one game at a time but we can go on and create our own history. We are a young side but we’re an experienced young side, as daft as that sounds. We know how to work and play for each other, and what our strengths are. We know how to win.”
Southgate has also hailed the Sunderland native, lauding him as a model for the next generation of goalkeepers aspire to.