The 2026 World Cup may already seem like a lifetime ago for many Everton fans. Most of us were glued to the action in the summer, as the best international teams battled to lift the famous trophy. England came so close again, but it was Spain who ultimately triumphed.
As arguably the best league in the world, the EPL is home to many players who represented their countries at this summer’s World Cup. Every single one of England’s top-flight clubs had at least four players in North America. Sunderland had 11, while Crystal Palace had 12, but Everton’s number may come as a surprise to some.
For a club that has always welcomed international stars from across the world, the Toffees only had four players at the 2026 World Cup. But now the summer transfer window is over and the new season has begun, it is incredible that only one member of the current Everton side played at the tournament. Step forward, Jordan Pickford, Everton’s lone World Cup star.
Everton previously had Senegal’s Iliman Ndaiye and Idrissa Gueye, along with Nathan Patterson of Scotland, joining Jordan Pickford on their respective team planes. Those other three have now all left the club, of course. New arrivals at the Hill Dickinson include Brennan Johnson, Christian Nørgaard, and Merlin Röhl, but Wales and Denmark failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup, while Röhl is yet to represent his country at senior level.
That leaves Jordan Pickford as the only player currently in the Everton dressing room that can look back on a summer of playing at the pinnacle of the international game. Where that might be a sad reflection on the state of the squad at the moment, it is more important to applaud our number one for being the best in the business, and look back on his international career.
Pickford had played just one season of Premier League football for his hometown club of Sunderland, before he was called up by Gareth Southgate in 2017 for two World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia. He was actually forced to withdraw through injury, but later made his England debut in a friendly against Germany, soon after beginning his Everton career. He kept a clean sheet at Wembley, and was later named as Everton’s Player of the Season in a campaign to remember.
Although Pickford has attracted some largely unjustified criticism throughout his career for his style of play and personality, he has been an almost ever-present for club and country since arriving at Goodison Park in 2017. No other keeper has come close to dislodging Pickford from his position as England keeper, with his only absences down to injury or when the games have been friendlies. His first experience of a major international tournament was the World Cup hosted by Russia in 2018.
Pickford played in every game of that tournament, helping England to the semifinals, beating Colombia on the way in the round of 16, the first time that the Three Lions had won a penalty shoot-out at a World Cup finals. England ultimately lost in the last four, but Pickford kept his place in goal over the next few years, and was once again England’s number one for the European Championship in 2020. He broke a number of records at the tournament, including becoming the first keeper to manage five consecutive clean sheets, and even saved two penalties against Italy in a shoot-out in the final.
Five years after his England debut, Pickford was still a popular choice for his country’s goalkeeping duties for the World Cup in Qatar. Once again, he played every single minute of England’s games, keeping three clean sheets along the way. Unfortunately, England lost to France at the quarterfinal stage, although Pickford could celebrate his 50th cap for his country with that appearance. England had, by now, been transformed into a real tournament power, with Pickford’s reliability and shot-stopping ability a major reason why the team was doing so well. He was then picked as the number one for the Euros in Germany in 2024. On the way to the finals, he had embarked on a clean sheet streak, finally breaking Peter Shilton’s England record in the goalless draw with Slovenia in the second game of the tournament. He kept up his fine form, once again saving a spot kick in a penalty shoot-out with Switzerland in the quarterfinals, before England lost to Spain in the final.
Pickford has been a safe pair of hands for his country for almost 10 years
Pickford was the custodian again this summer, of course, helping England reach the semifinals before the heart-breaking loss to Argentina. He played in every single game and will be able to look back on the tournament with personal pride again, as he broke the record for England World Cup appearances. He has now played in 19 finals games, two more than the previous record holder, Peter Shilton. The disappointment of England’s defeat may take a while for Pickford and the rest of the squad to get over, but he will be able to look back on his personal achievements with pride in the future.
The Everton number one has seen a whole host of challengers for his England keeper role come and go over the years, without ever really looking like losing the confidence of either Gareth Southgate or Thomas Tuchel. It should be a source of pride for all Toffees, even those with no allegiance to England, that he has been the trusted number one for his country for almost 10 years now, and all Everton fans will surely believe that he deserves to keep hold of that position for a while to come.