National media notes 'one dodgy moment' as Everton ace scores 7/10 on int'l duty

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was hailed by the national media after his display for England on Saturday, despite one “dodgy moment”.

Metro’s Callum McAvoy [7 September] gave Pickford a 7/10 in his player ratings in their 2-0 win against the Republic of Ireland, claiming it was a quiet night for the Toffees number one as he kept a clean sheet in Dublin – but endured one “dodgy moment when trying to play out from the back”.

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope [7 September] handed the 30-year-old a mark a shade lower at 6.5/10, branding him a “spectator” as the Three Lions dominated in their first contest under the interim reign of Lee Carsley.

If Pickford plays against Finland at Wembley on Tuesday, he will reach 70 caps for his nation, having already racked up 283 and counting in a Toffees shirt.

Everton ace Jordan Pickford epitomised in England display

The performance from Pickford at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, largely during which he had little to do, will come as a welcome change from the pressure his Everton team have been under in the opening weeks of the season.

None more so than the clean sheet, which he will be hoping to replicate should he retain his place and not be rotated by Carsley back on home turf this Tuesday.

The “dodgy” incident in question from McAvoy is one that does occasionally blight Pickford’s relatively assured performances and often prevents him being discussed as pushing the “world class” category – but he is undoubtedly the best English stopper out there currently, and has been the saviour of Everton at times down the years.

The difference between turning out for the Toffees and England at the moment has been chalk and cheese for Pickford – he was called into more action against League Two Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup than against the Irish at the weekend.

Despite the occasional lapse from a goalkeeper whose football upbringing included little of this contemporary tactical approach of building from the back, any future success with Pickford in the Everton side will always be in part because of him rather than despite him.

In other Everton news, Clinton Morrison’s verdict on Seamus Coleman on Saturday.

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