Everton star Jordan Pickford and Nigel Martyn
Everton star Jordan Pickford and Nigel Martyn
The 30-year-old started over Leeds United's James Trafford and played very well at Wembley in the UEFA Nations League clash.
It was not certain that the Hill Dickinson Stadium star would be between the sticks as Thomas Tuchel had hinted that he would rotate his goalkeepers again.
Some observers believe that Trafford is being primed to take over the gloves from the 32-year-old stopper.
However, Martyn, who played 100 times for the Blues and 271 times for Leeds, does not think that is the case.
Pickford proved him right with his showing against the Checkered Ones on Thursday on a nervy night towards the end.
Why Nigel Martyn does not think Jordan Pickford will be axed by England anytime soon
Martyn believes that Pickford will still be his nation's number one for many more years to come.
Speaking on ToffeeWeb's Once a Blue podcast, he said: “As a manager, you want that competition for places.
“I think Pickford should stay number one for the foreseeable future. I don’t see any reason to change it.
“At the age that he is now, the next five or six years are probably where I felt most comfortable playing.
“The older I got, the more comfortable I was with everything.
“As long as the desire is there from him, and I see that, then he has another five or six years of Jordan, if he wants that.”
Tuchel has already labelled the Merseyside star as his number one, but that could change if his performance levels drop, but they did not against tough opposition this time out.
However, what does the data say about his showing against the Croatians and who should be in the line-up for the future?
What do the stats say about Trafford and Pickford?
Pickford made four saves in the contest, preventing an expected goals tally of 0,16, per FotMob data.
The Toffees star completed 29 of his 39 passes for a 74 per cent success rate with the ball at his feet.
The former Sunderland man made seven recoveries and acted as a sweeper once in the contest.
It was a relatively quiet night, but when he was called into action, he was calm and collected, exactly what he needed to be, and his distribution, which has been an issue before, was brilliant.
Pickford has not put a foot wrong on England duty and has proven that he can handle the pressure of major tournaments, so there is no need to change something that is working, until it is not anymore.
Martin is probably right, there is a long way to go for Trafford to be handed the number one spot, based on the evidence that was witnessed against Slaven Bilic's side.