Former Everton player Richard Dunne believes there is a long-standing fact that makes the arguments of Jordan Pickford’s critics defy reason.
The Blues ace went into England’s World Cup clash with Mexico on the back of some observers still questioning his place in the team but produced a heroic display in the Azteca Stadium as the Three Lions pulled off a famous 3-2 victory despite Jarell Quansah’s 54th minute sending off.
With the hosts enjoying a numerical advantage on the pitch, Thomas Tuchel’s side were forced to dig deep and clung on to their lead as Pickford dominated his penalty area, coming for and punching a series of crosses.
The 32-year-old has now equalled fellow goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s record for the most World Cup games for England (17) and will go on to set a new highest ever total in his own right if selected for the quarter-final against Norway on Saturday night.
Dunne, who made his debut for Everton as a 17-year-old before going on to make 431 Premier League appearances throughout his career, told the ECHO: “Does Jordan Pickford get the credit he deserves? Definitely not.
“But he gets it from the managers because they keep choosing him and he keeps performing. There’s always an underlying theme among certain sections of the national media in England that they think he’s not good enough.
“Maybe it’s because he’s not playing in the Champions League or for one of the so-called ‘big clubs.’ He’s performed every time for England and he’s performed every time for Everton.
“It’s one of those where if he makes a mistake it gets highlighted, but everyone makes mistakes. No goalkeeper is going to go through an entire season and play perfectly.
“Jordan has also improved a lot over the years. He’s matured as a player and as a person.
“He was outstanding against Mexico and made some great saves. Whether he gets the recognition, I’m not too sure, but he seems to enjoy it when he does which is a nice thing.
“He’s been outstanding for England and to become the player with the most World Cup appearances is a special record.”
Capped 80 times by the Republic of Ireland, Dunne believes Pickford’s undisputed position as England number one since he made the first of his 89 international appearances to date against Germany in November 2017, less than five months after he joined Everton for £25million from Sunderland, is telling.
The 47-year-old said, speaking courtesy of Harry Kane World Cup 2026 goals, said: “Goalkeepers are always different because there’s only ever one of them in the team rather than centre-halves where you have a partnership. The English national media have one person to pick on in goal and it’s always him.
“The fact is though that for almost nine years now since he won his first cap, nobody has been able to challenge him or take the spot. The Premier League is the best league in the world and over that entire time, they’ve not been able to find another English goalkeeper who is better than him.