Jordan Pickford will return to the England starting XI for the final two matches of the international break after Thomas Tuchel confirmed his goalkeeping plans.
The Everton goalkeeper watched from the sidelines as James Trafford started the Nations League games against Spain and Czechia, but Tuchel has confirmed Pickford will be given the next two matches.
It means the 32-year-old will get his first minutes of the international window before returning to club duty with David Moyes’ side.
Pickford set for England return
Tuchel’s decision to start Trafford in England’s opening two fixtures had inevitably raised questions over Pickford’s position after years as the national team’s established first choice.
The England manager has now made clear that Pickford will get his opportunity over the remainder of the break.
The decision should not necessarily be read as a definitive verdict on England’s longer-term goalkeeping hierarchy. Tuchel has used this international window to look at his options, with Trafford receiving the first two games and Pickford now set to take over.
For Everton, it means their goalkeeper will return to competitive action before the Premier League resumes.
Pickford has remained one of Moyes’ automatic selections during Everton’s unbeaten start to the season and has been an important part of a defence that has produced five clean sheets across the opening weeks of the campaign.
While Pickford and Everton’s other internationals have been away, Moyes has used the break to work with those remaining at Finch Farm.
Attention will soon return to domestic football, with Everton facing Liverpool at the Hill Dickinson on 10 October when their Premier League campaign resumes.
Pickford should therefore return to Merseyside with two more England appearances behind him rather than having spent the entire international window without competitive minutes.
Full details of Tuchel’s decision can be found in the Liverpool Echo’s report.
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