Jordan Pickford’s World Cup form came under scrutiny after England’s semi-final exit to Argentina, with some critics even calling for him to be dropped for the Three Lions — but the underlying numbers tell a different story.
According to Opta data, Everton number one, Pickford, has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League since the start of the 2022-23 season, comfortably outperforming his expected goals conceded over that period.
It’s a record built on consistency rather than any single standout campaign, and undercuts the loudest of the criticism that followed the Argentina defeat and the Norway win.
His international record backs that up.
Pickford has broken Gordon Banks’ long-standing England record for consecutive clean sheets and has made just one error leading to a goal since his international debut back in 2017 — a rate former England goalkeeper Rob Green described as ‘showing genuine consistency’ spanning more than two full Premier League seasons’ worth of caps.
There were fair individual moments to question during the tournament, and the goal conceded against DR Congo among them drew scrutiny at the time.
But the broader numbers point to a goalkeeper still performing at an elite level, for club and country alike.
Pickford will now be expected to carry that same reliability back into Everton’s goal as pre-season continues, with the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on 22 August fast approaching.
