Jordan Pickford was beaten at his near post inside seven minutes as England were given a serious fright by DR Congo, and the Everton goalkeeper’s positioning for the goal has become one of the points of debate from a 2-1 win that was anything but routine.
Brian Cipenga struck to give DR Congo a shock lead in the Round of 32 tie in Atlanta, finishing after Chancel Mbemba’s ball into the box found space in behind an England defence that was not set. It took two late Harry Kane goals to spare Thomas Tuchel’s side, but by then Pickford’s role in the opener had already prompted some scrutiny.
The goal, broken down
England’s back line share blame for the concession. Djed Spence was pulled out of position by Cipenga’s run, and Ezri Konsa was slow to react as the ball was worked across the box. But Pickford’s movement has also drawn plenty of attention.
As Cipenga shaped to shoot, the goalkeeper appeared to shift his weight to his left, as if anticipating a curled finish to the far post. Cipenga instead drove the ball low and hard, and the space Pickford had opened up on his near post proved costly.
It’s not an unfamiliar debate for those who follow Pickford. His shot-stopping and range of distribution are rarely questioned, but positioning at the near post is the one recurring criticism that follows him from club to country and back again.
How he was rated
The marks handed out afterwards reflected that scrutiny. Sky Sports gave Pickford a 5 out of 10, noting he had chances to do better with the finish. ESPN’s ratings panel was similarly unforgiving, pointing out he would not have been pleased with how he was beaten so early on.
Football365’s ratings piece went into more forensic detail, walking through the exact sequence of Pickford’s footwork as Cipenga set himself, and concluding the error was more about anticipation than anything else. Their view was that Pickford’s positioning invited the near-post finish rather than being beaten by pure quality alone.
A quiet second half
Beyond the seventh minute, there was little else for Pickford to deal with. DR Congo’s best remaining opportunity came just before half-time, when Yoane Wissa struck the post from close range with a shot the goalkeeper was never going to reach.
As England grew into the game after the break, Pickford was rarely troubled again, and the contest moved almost entirely to the other end of the pitch before Kane’s double settled it.
What it means for Everton
Pickford remains first choice under Tuchel, with Dean Henderson and James Trafford both unused on the bench, and there is no suggestion from within the camp that his position is in any doubt.
But mistakes at this stage of the tournament don’t go unnoticed by Evertonians who have seen this before — outstanding for long spells, then undone by a moment at the near post that becomes the story.
Attention now turns to a Round of 16 meeting with co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday, a far more hostile atmosphere than Atlanta.
Pickford will be looking to put in an error-free performance, with Everton and England fans hoping the mistake against DR Congo proves to be a one-off rather than the start of a wider wobble heading into the toughest part of England’s World Cup.
