Jordan Pickford's World Cup Journey: From Scrutiny to Redemption
Jordan Pickford walked into this World Cup under scrutiny, not celebration. The early weeks didn’t change that.
His start against Croatia was serviceable rather than sharp, a performance that jarred with the standards he has set for himself in an England shirt. He got a good hand to Martin Baturina’s strike but couldn’t keep it out, beaten as Croatia levelled at 1-1. His distribution, usually a weapon, wobbled. Cameras caught Thomas Tuchel raging on the touchline in Dallas, gesturing furiously after another loose pass from his goalkeeper.
Then came Ghana and a moment that could have blown the whole thing apart. Pickford raced from his box, misjudged the ball and clattered into Prince Adu. On another night, with another referee, he’s walking. Heavy contact from the Ghanaian forward muddied the incident just enough for him to escape with a yellow in a turgid 0-0 that did nothing to quiet the doubts.
The last-32 tie against DR Congo did not help the mood either. Brian Cipenga beat him at his near post in Atlanta to give the Africans the lead and, as England toiled, the inquest was already writing itself. Only Harry Kane’s late double spared Pickford from carrying the weight of a potential exit on his shoulders.
All of which is why the Azteca mattered. Mexico City, thin air, heavy legs, a baying crowd. England were always going to spend long spells under siege. Their goalkeeper had to be flawless.
Azteca redemption
Mexico’s first real opening fell to Raul Jimenez, and it set the tone for the night. Jimenez stole a march at the near post and glanced a header towards the bottom corner. Pickford hurled himself left, strong wrist, firm touch, corner. Minutes later, same duel, same outcome: Jimenez climbing highest, Pickford reacting, this time tipping the ball over the bar. Had that one gone in, England would have trudged into half-time punctured and level. Instead they clung to a 2-1 lead.
Then the game turned into something else entirely.
For the final half-hour, Pickford seemed to drink in the chaos. He barked at his centre-backs, shoved the back line higher, then dragged them deeper. He attacked crosses, fists flying. When the dust settled, the numbers told the story: five punches, three vital saves, a string of clearances in a game that could easily have swallowed England whole.
“He’s not pleasing on the eye, but my god he’s effective, and you can trust him, and in the big moments he wants to stand there and be that guy,” Joe Hart said on the BBC afterwards. “That’s massive to have in a team.
“To be the England number one for so long, and to keep improving and stepping up in a big game, I’m so pleased he had that night tonight and he deserves every bit of praise he’s going to get.”
Hart nailed something that has lingered over Pickford’s England career. He has never quite been loved the way his record suggests he should be.
Tuchel underlined the point before a ball was kicked at this tournament, stressing there was competition everywhere, even in goal. Dean Henderson’s form for Crystal Palace has only fuelled that debate. Yet the numbers do not bend.
England’s constant
Since his debut in November 2017, Pickford has been the one fixed point in England’s modern era. He quickly convinced Sir Gareth Southgate and has started every match across five straight major tournaments. If he lines up against Norway in Miami, he will become England’s most capped World Cup player, surpassing Peter Shilton’s 17 appearances on the biggest stage.
Shilton does not hand out compliments lightly.
“I think he’s probably the best since I finished with England,” the former No.1 said. “If you look at the record, World Cup semi-finals, penalty saves... I think he’s probably up there. I would put him up there as the best. Obviously, David Seaman, he’s very close. But I think, generally, looking at his overall situation, I think he’s probably the best since I played.”
The highlight reel backs him up. Russia 2018: Pickford saves from Carlos Bacca in the shootout against Colombia, helping England finally win a World Cup penalty lottery. Days later he produces a Player-of-the-Match display against Sweden in the quarter-finals, clawing away everything that comes his way.
Euro 2020: two saves in the final shootout against Italy at Wembley, a losing cause but not his fault. Euro 2024: another key stop, this time from Manuel Akanji, as England edge Switzerland in the quarters. Across World Cups and Euros, he has faced 14 penalties in shootouts and saved four of them. When the walk from the centre circle begins, England know they have a specialist waiting on the line.
“When it comes to a penalty shootout, I don’t think I would have anyone else,” Ben Foster said in 2024. “I reckon at that moment in time when you get a penalty shootout, he’s genuinely thinking, ‘It’s showtime, baby’. If you could take a blood reading or a sample of how much adrenaline is coursing through his body at that moment, I reckon it would be right at the top, right at the limit. It’s like he’s had six double espressos.”
The drama of the shootout can cloud another truth: in open play, he has become almost error-proof. Since 2018, advanced models credit him with just one mistake that directly led to a goal for England. In an era of high-risk, ball-playing goalkeepers, that level of reliability is rare.
The Everton crucible
The same story runs through his club career. Pickford is the Premier League’s longest-serving current No.1, almost a decade in goal for Everton. He has been their Player of the Season three years running – 2022, 2023, 2024 – and since the start of 2022-23, Opta numbers show he has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the division.
“He is a top 'keeper, he has made top saves all season, he is fully capable of it,” Hart said, widening his praise beyond Mexico.
Of course, the mistakes are the clips that go viral. The wild challenge on Virgil van Dijk that shredded the Liverpool defender’s ACL will follow him forever. There have been other high-profile misjudgements, the kind that feed compilation videos and social media scorn.
Yet every Everton manager since 2017 has reached the same conclusion: you live with the occasional storm because, without him, the whole structure collapses. Season after season, he has stood between Everton and the drop, throwing himself in front of shots as the club flirted with disaster. He is their organiser, their voice, their insurance policy.
Haaland on the horizon
Now comes Miami, Norway, and a striker who has turned Pickford’s penalty area into his personal playground. Erling Haaland has scored seven times against Everton since joining Manchester City; only four goalkeepers have picked the ball out of their net from him more often. The familiarity offers no comfort.
Haaland arrives in the form of his life. He has scored in each of his last 14 competitive games for Norway, racking up 27 goals in that run. His display against Brazil in the last 16 was a clinic in ruthless minimalism: barely involved, yet still good for two superb finishes that sent the Selecao home.
Right now, there is no more lethal finisher on the planet. Not close.
England will still walk out as slight favourites, but they know the context. Norway have taken the hard road, then made Brazil look ordinary. They are fresher. England have just survived a night of altitude and anxiety at the Azteca.
All of which points to one thing: another evening where Jordan Pickford’s decisions, his hands, his voice, might decide whether this campaign surges on or shudders to a halt.
History suggests he will be ready. The question, as Haaland waits in the tunnel, is whether that will be enough.
