Jordan Pickford is confident that he will be able to compete in the World Cup and that he will enjoy the opportunity for England.
The Everton goalkeeper has been Gareth Southgate’s first choice shot-stopper between the sticks and has helped his nation reach the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the Euro 2020 final.
He’s now got serious competition for his place with Arsenal‘s Aaron Ramsdale not putting a foot wrong since he joined the Gunners last year.
Nick Pope has also been excellent for Newcastle this season and deputised in Pickford’s absence for the Three Lions in their final two pre-World Cup games in September.
Pickford has proven to be reliable for Everton as well as Southgate, so it would surprise me if Pickford doesn’t rank number one in Qatar.
Pickford admitted that he is confident going into the World Cup because he has been an example of consistency over the years for both club and country.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Micky Gray in an exclusive interview, the Everton star said: “I feel my own form has been good.
“I think I’ve carried it on and been consistent over the last couple of years now and just keep on striving to get better and better.
“I feel like I’ve started well, unfortunately I missed the England games and one game against West Ham through injury.
“But I worked hard to get back out on the pitch as quick as I can.
“My own form is good and I just keep on building and building and each game I’m ready for.”
Asked if he’s in the best form of his career, he replied: “Most consistent over the last two or three years, yes.”
England never had as many goalkeeper options as Pickford, but Pickford is taking advantage of the opportunities at international level.
“You always want competition. Competition is what I thrive on. It thrives me to get better,” he said.
“If they are pushing you, I need to go to the next step so they need to push you even further.
“For me, it is just about being the best, having a good set of goalkeepers for England because we always want the best for each other. I think we all agree with that, if it’s Popey, Rammers, Dean Henderson, Sam Johnstone, we have got loads.
“It is just about being the best I can be and the lads keep pushing me to become better. I really enjoy that pressure of competition behind me.”
Pickford is already one of England’s most successful ever goalkeepers, and he believes his experience of dealing with high-pressure moments in previous tournaments will stand him in good stead in Qatar.
“Being a young lad from Washington and growing up making your debut for England is your dream,” he continued.
“I am 45 caps in now and have come a long way and have worked hard for it.
“Being in the final, being the semi-final in two big tournaments, it puts a lot of pressure on you and I feel like I deal with it really well. But it is about keeping going, keep getting better, never just being happy getting to a final or semi-final, it is about winning it and being in a winning side, and I feel with this England side we have got this great opportunity.”
And what of England’s chances of glory this winter?
“I’m really confident,” Pickford declared. “We’ve got a great squad, we’ve had the feeling of getting beat in a final and a semi-final.
“We’ve had that disappointment and defeat by not getting all the way, by not getting the winner’s medal.
“I think you can only learn from that, you can learn from the negatives.
“We know what defeat tastes like now, so it’s about us being a group and stepping up and going all the way.
“We know there’s so much competition in the World Cup, but when we’re on our A-game, I feel we’re a top side.”
You can listen to Jordan Pickford’s Everton vs Crystal Palace live on talkSPORT 2Kick-off at 3pm on Saturday
