- Jordan Pickford and Iliman Ndiaye continue prep ahead of World Cup.
- Jake O’Brien earns Player of the Match despite scoring own goal.
- Nathan Patterson, Vitalii Mykolenko and Braiden Graham featurey.
The World Cup is just days away, and multiple Everton players are in preparation mode ahead of football’s biggest tournament.
Away from the upcoming action in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, even more Blues have featured for their nations, which did not manage to qualify.
It is set to be a huge summer ahead for Jordan Pickford, who is appearing in his third World Cup for England, and Iliman Ndiaye, who has recently been rumoured with a move away from the Toffees.
ReadEverton takes a look at all the Everton stars who have been in action.
Jordan Pickford
England’s number one played 45 minutes in their first tournament warm-up against New Zealand.
He had relatively little to do in between the sticks, but was forced into a save midway through the first half, and showcased his impressive distribution.
Pickford was replaced at half-time, with Thomas Tuchel opting to prioritise squad fitness.
Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye
Ndiaye’s future at Everton has been cast into some doubt in recent days over news that he rejected a new contract with the club, but his mind will be firmly fixed on the World Cup.
The winger appeared for 70 minutes in a 3-2 defeat against tournament co-hosts, the USA, and showed his usual flair as he created one big chance, as well as proving to be a help in defence.
Idrissa Gana Gueye is expected to appear for Senegal this summer, yet he was not a part of the matchday squad in Charlotte.
Jake O’Brien
Ireland snatched a 1-1 draw against another co-host, Canada, and Jake O’Brien had mixed fortunes, featuring for the full 90 minutes.
It was the defender who opened the scoring in the match, but he ended up finding the wrong net after the ball bobbled in the Irish area, and ended up ricocheting off O’Brien’s foot into the net.
Yet he recovered in ideal fashion with numerous blocks and clearances, and even went on to be named player of the match.
Braiden Graham
Braiden Graham was Everton U21s star man this season and was unfortunate not to make his senior debut for the Toffees.
But the striker was surprisingly called up to the Northern Ireland national team for their friendlies against Guinea and France.
The 18-year-old was on the bench as his nation defeated Guinea 1-0, but he did not manage to gain any minutes for Michael O’Neill’s side.
Nathan Patterson
After failing to gather much playing time under David Moyes, Nathan Patterson still managed to earn a place in Scotland’s first World Cup squad since 1998.
He appeared in their 4-1 victory against Curacao after coming off the bench as a half-time substitue.
Scotland managed to bag four goals again against Bolivia, but the right back did not feature on this occasion.
Vitalii Mykolenko
Vitalii Mykolenko maintained his starting role for Ukraine and was selected for their two friendly matches.
The defender played the full 90 minutes against Poland, however, he did not feature in his usual position at left back and slotted in as a central half in a back three.
His side went on to win 2-0, with Mykolenko also picking up a yellow card.
