England are out of the World Cup and predictably, there is some talk about Everton’s Jordan Pickford.
The Three Lions’ wait for a first trophy since 1966 goes on, after Argentina staged a comeback in Atlanta.
England had the lead through Anthony Gordon, but then sat back and invited pressure, with Lionel Messi running the show.
Are you worried about what you’re seeing from Pickford? 🤔
Enzo Fernandez got the equaliser, before Lautaro Martinez – on as a substitute – grabbed the winner in injury-time.
Thomas Tuchel is coming in for a lot of criticism for his approach after England scored.
But Jordan Pickford is also being questioned.
Jordan Pickford questioned over Enzo Fernandez’s goal for Argentina
Pickford was largely praised by media outlets for his display against Argentina.
He made a few good saves, including a brilliant one from Nico Gonzalez from close range.
But his role in Argentina’s equaliser by Fernandez has come under the microscope, and pundits Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright questioned whether he could have saved it.
Neville said on Stick To Football: “Do we think we should save the first shot? The one with the side foot?”
Wright: “What happened is that when you see it and people continually play it, you’ll see it didn’t go into the side netting.”
Keane: “I think if you look at it, I think he was one of them ones. He was kind of leaning to see it.”
Wright: “And then it was too late for the dive.”
Neville also added: “I think Jordan should save that.”
Keane: “We’ve always said Pickford, is Pickford really going to be producing amazing saves? He’s been very good for England. Obviously very good for Everton. But is he really a top-class goalkeeper?
Wright gave Pickford credit for the save from Gonzalez, but then also suggested he should have saved the one from Fernandez.
It was probably inevitable that people would question Pickford here, because the ball didn’t go in the very top corner.
Whenever that happens, everyone rushes to blame the goalkeeper.
But Fernandez put plenty of power into the shot and the ball was curling away from the diving Pickford.
Perhaps it wasn’t unstoppable, but it would have beaten many other goalkeepers in the world.
The Everton man was also partially unsighted, making it trickier for him to react instantly. There was also the possibility Fernandez could have gone to the near post. Had Pickford started shifting over and Fernandez gone near post, he would have been slammed.
Ultimately, England should have defended better as a unit in that phase of play.
Fernandez was left in acres of space and that should never have happened. He should then have also been closed down quicker.
Pickford was one of England’s better players last night, and the fact he’s getting more criticism again feels overly harsh.
People are looking for someone to blame, and they ought to look no further than Thomas Tuchel, whose baffling substitutions led to the late Argentina onslaught.
It perhaps wasn’t the best of tournaments for Pickford by his usual high standards. He was amazing against Mexico, but lacked consistency this time. However, people blaming him for last night’s defeat have got to look at the bigger picture.
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