David James believes England have one of the best penalty savers in international football in Jordan Pickford. The Three Lions booked a last-32 meeting with the Democratic Republic of Congo after beating Panama 2-0 in New York to top Group L on Saturday.
Tuchel Predicted Penalty Shootout
Ahead of the tournament, Thomas Tuchel predicted that England might need a penalty shootout to advance in the knockout rounds. Everton goalkeeper Pickford made big penalty saves at the 2018 World Cup and the 2020 and 2024 European Championships.
James exclusively told Ladbrokes: “If England get to the final and it goes to penalties, I think Jordan will be quietly buzzing about it. People say goalies have nothing to lose but loads to gain.
“Most people don’t want to get to that position, but at the same time, maybe that's the luck that we're looking for. We have one of the best penalty savers in international football.
“Jordan is England's number one and has been for many, many years now. We've got James Trafford now, who I think is outstanding.
“He will be the England goalkeeper possibly for many years himself. I'm sure there will be a call from Thomas Tuchel in the next couple of years to test out Trafford.
“However, if Jordan does what I hope he does this summer by winning the World Cup, there is no reason why he can’t go into 100 caps.
“If I were Jordan Pickford I'd be looking at Peter Shilton's England appearance record and thinking that's achievable.”
Pickford’s Place Among England Greats
The former England goalkeeper continued: “I had an argument with Teddy Sheringham the other day about who is the best keeper to put on an England shirt.
“He said David Seaman. I think Gordon Banks is the best. He's the one who's won something and he was instrumental in getting to the final in ’66.
“But Jordan Pickford is the only one to play in multiple finals. You look at the Euro 2020 against Italy. What I loved about the final was that Jordan Pickford did literally everything that Donnarumma did in that game.
“Donnarumma was player of the tournament, but Pickford did exactly the same. I put him up there as number two. I love David Seaman. He's a good friend of mine.
“What David did for England on numerous occasions was top drawer but Jordan has helped England get to cup finals, championship finals, and he's worthy of the number two spot behind the all-time OG in Gordon Banks.”
Pickford Ready for Shootout Heroics
Pickford, speaking over the weekend, said he is ready to deliver more penalty shootout heroics.
“You’ve got to be prepared,” he said. “It’s tournament football and we prepare ourselves, we push ourselves 110 per cent.
“Everyone is good at penalties and that’s the standard we set and the confidence we put in each other.
“It’s my job to make the saves and in tournaments, time and time before, I’ve always come up with a save in a shootout for England and I’ll hopefully continue that.
“It’s all about belief and believing in each other and that’s what we do, no matter if it’s in training or the game.
“We believe in each other, there’s that confidence and they have confidence I can save a penalty and I have confidence they can score them. But we want to be winning the game, we don’t want to go to penalties.”
