England will face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday night.
Former Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford cast aside personal achievements and remained focused on helping England take another step towards World Cup glory following Saturday’s quarter-final win against Erling Haaland’s Norway.
The Everton star made his 18th World Cup finals appearance during the victory in Miami and that meant he surpassed Peter Shilton as the player to have made the most appearances at the tournament in Three Lions history. There is no doubt the Washington-born stopper has firmly established himself as England’s number one over the last decade and he is rapidly approaching a century of senior caps after making his debut in a friendly draw with Germany in November 2017.
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford celebrates Jude Bellingham's decisive winning goal in the World Cup quarter-final against Norway.placeholder image
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford celebrates Jude Bellingham's decisive winning goal in the World Cup quarter-final against Norway. | Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
Pickford has been in impressive form during this summer’s finals in North America as England came through a group containing Panama, Croatia and Ghana before reaching the last eight with dramatic knockout round wins against DR Congo and co-hosts Mexico. Although he was the subject of some criticism following Andreas Schjelderup’s opener for Norway in a quarter-final clash on Saturday night, Pickford produced a commanding display as a Jude Bellingham brace helped set up a semi-final showdown with Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday night.
Despite writing his name into the England history books, Pickford has stressed he is solely focused on ‘getting the job done and focusing on the next game’ as all eyes now focus on meeting Lionel Messi and Argentina in midweek.
Speaking after Saturday’s win, the former Black Cats keeper said: “I think, first and foremost, it’s more about the team. I always talk about to get to another semi-final. We are at that stage where we need to keep going. We have had a great game tonight against a top opponent and we have come through a test. It’s a great honour to be in another semi-final. The record is a massive honour for myself and my family - but we are here for a team game and I will reflect on that in years at come. At this moment in time, everybody knows me, it’s about getting the job done and focusing on the next game.”
Standards
Thomas Tuchel is now two wins away from becoming the first foreign manager to win a World Cup.placeholder image
Thomas Tuchel is now two wins away from becoming the first foreign manager to win a World Cup. | Getty Images.
Much has been made of Thomas Tuchel’s comments about England’s performance on Saturday night as he claimed the Three Lions were ‘sloppy’ during the win and relied on their mentality to pull them through. Pickford was asked to respond to his manager’s comments - but insisted he and his team-mates should be looking to improve despite conceding the humidity in Miami had impacted on their display against Norway.
The England number one said: “You’ve got to always want to improve and to get to another semi-final is great but we always want to keep improving. We will reflect on the game, we will analyse it before we move on to the next game and that’s the standards the manager is setting. That’s what we set as a team ourselves. I think tonight, the humidity, for me, we talk about the altitude in Mexico, but tonight was the most humid game we’ve played all tournament, so I’d say that played a factor as well.”
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