England defeated Latvia 3-0 in their second World Cup qualifier under newly appointed head coach Thomas Tuchel.
The Three Lions went ahead through a brilliant Reece James free-kick just before the half-time interval and then Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane added the second.
Eberechi Eze rounded off the scoring with a smart bit of individual play which excited the 90,000 fans in attendance at Wembley Stadium.
Everton’s shot-stopper Jordan Pickford earned another cap and marked it with his 37th clean sheet, which sees him move two clear of the legendary Gordon Banks.
Pickford is now closing in on the top three clean sheet record holders, with David Seamen occupying third on 40.
With that said, here’s how the national media reacted to his performance against Latvia.
Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Tuchel has been warned not to drop Pickford and it’s clear he has made the Everton number one his first-choice.
Pickford played against Albania in the first World Cup qualifier and was again named in the starting line-up this evening.
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Here’s what The Express had to say.
6/10 – “Got into a right tangle to gift Latvia a golden chance to score. And then had nothing else to do.”
The iPaper added.
5/10 – “Lucky not to concede after charging out of his goal when Guehi appeared to have the situation under control. Made a routine save from Alvis Jaunzems’ long-range effort, but otherwise untroubled.”
The Sun said.
5/10 – “Only really had one thing to do and made a mess of it. Didn’t really need to sprint out of his goal. Clearly a lack of communication with Marc Guehi and Latvia should have gone 1-0 up. Could have got his deck chair out for most of the game. In typical Pickford fashion though, still constantly barking orders to those in front of him.”
Here’s what The Standard said.
6/10 – “Caught out in the first half and almost conceded. Made amends with a decent save from a shot from range. Simple night otherwise. Cleansheet.”
Pickford’s stats vs Latvia
Other than the nervy moment in the first half, Pickford was hardly troubled as he was forced to make just one save.
Here are his Sofascore statistics.
90 minutes played
11 touches
1 save
9/9 passes completed
1 long ball
Pickford will now travel back to Merseyside this week to prepare for the grudge game against fierce rivals Liverpool next Wednesday.
David Moyes’ side have an incredibly tough run of fixtures ahead, with all of their next five games against Champions League-chasing teams.
Everton are currently on a nine-game unbeaten run, so they’ll do well to extend that record over the next few weeks.