---
title: "England call-up Pickford and Keane – will they both start?"
canonical: "https://readeverton.com/england-call-up-pickford-and-keane-will-they-both-start/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Elliott Cuff"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2019-08-30T07:00:00Z"
modified: "2019-08-30T07:00:00Z"
---

# England call-up Pickford and Keane – will they both start?

Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane [have been called-up](https://www.thefa.com/news/2019/aug/29/england-squad-named-to-play-bulgaria-and-kosovo-290819) in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad to face Bulgaria and Kosovo in Euro 2020 qualifiers next week.

The duo were named in Southgate’s 25-man Three Lions squad, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tyrone Mings both receiving their first international call-up.

![Dan Istitene/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readeverton.com/readeverton/2019/08/861609212.jpg)

Pickford is expected to remain as Southgate’s first-choice goalkeeper, while Michael Keane will hope that playing more regular football will help him beat out Joe Gomez to partner Harry Maguire at the heart of England’s defence.

England will take on Bulgaria on September 7, while the Kosovo clash will shortly follow on September 10.

### Read Everton Verdict

Unsurprisingly, I’m a big fan of seeing Michael Keane having retained his international spot. Pickford was expected to be named in the squad, but Keane’s place isn’t so nailed down, so it’s always positive to see him in the list.

His career turnaround on Merseyside is still staggering to think about, considering how poor he was in his first season at Goodison Park. The former Burnley man has dramatically improved at Everton, and he deserves to start for England next week.