Gareth Southgate is Right to Keep Faith with Jordan Pickford [Opinion]

Despite a number of high-profile errors and controversies, England manager Gareth Southgate has shown his renewed faith in Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Despite dropping down to the bench in the Toffees’ 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Sunday, the 26-year-old was named in the Three Lions’ squad for their upcoming internationals.

Burnley’s Nick Pope and Manchester United’s Dean Henderson are the other goalkeepers in the squad for England’s games against Belgium and Ireland, – but does Pickford still have what it takes to be England’s no. 1?

Here it is… your #ThreeLions squad for our November internationals! 📝

— England (@England) November 5, 2020

To drop him from the England squad would do little in the way of improving Pickford’s confidence after his recent benching by Carlo Ancelotti.

Southgate’s renewed faith should give the 26-year-old a lift and could provide him with an ideal distraction from his recent troubles at Goodison Park.

Indeed, Pickford has been vital to Southgate’s plans in the past. He has 26 caps to his name and has played more than 2,500 minutes of international football. Southgate has been the man to award all of Pickford’s caps – a testament to the faith placed in the Washington-born ‘keeper.

As the old footballing cliché goes, ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’. Indeed, Ancelotti was keen to reassure Everton fans that Pickford’s relegation to the bench is purely temporary.

As per Everton’s official Twitter account, the Italian indicated: “I just want to give @JPickford1 a rest for this game and to give an opportunity to Olsen, to have minutes. Jordan will be back for the next game against Manchester United.”

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This is something Everton fans should celebrate; if Pickford takes his chance well for England, his form can carry over back to Merseyside – much to the benefit of the Toffees.

As for Pickford’s competitors, the Everton man is not alone in undergoing a rough spell. Pope’s Burnley sit bottom of the Premier League and have conceded an average of two goals per match, whilst Henderson conceded twice in United’s shock defeat at the hands of Istanbul Basakesehir and has not featured in the Premier League this season.

Again, this is not wholly the fault of the goalkeepers nor is it indicative of their wider talents – but Pickford is unlikely to ultimately lose his England starting role so soon in a squad of three ‘keepers.