England finished third-place in the inaugural Nations League on Sunday courtesy of a penalty kick victory over Switzerland after the clash ended goalless after 90 minutes and extra-time.
The hero of the game for England was Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who not saved a spot-kick, he also buried a penalty kick his own in emphatic style. He had already produced a string of saves in the semi-final defeat against the Netherlands.
At last summers World Cup, the former Sunderland goalkeeper also received acclaim for his heroics in a penalty shoot-out against Colombia, as well as one particularly acrobatic save.
Despite his major rise in profile during the summer, the 25-year-old made some poor errors during Everton’s terrible mid-season period. There was, of course, the crazy mistake that gifted Liverpool three points in the Merseyside derby.
Then even more erratic was his display in a 3-2 defeat at Newcastle, where the home crowd enjoyed getting a rise out of the former Black Cats stopper. During that trip to St James Park, he showed the best and worse of his character.
Firstly, he saved a spot-kick, only for the home fans barracking to seemingly get to him. The England goalkeeper had a major hand, literally, in allowing the Magpies to come back from two goals down and record an unlikely victory.
After the Newcastle game, major questions were asked of Pickford’s temperament, especially when he was involved in a minor scuffle while back in his native north east while out socialising.
However, it seems Pickford turned things around towards the end of the Premier League, with by no small coincidence the Toffees form also turning around.
The Everton goalkeeper is slightly crazy like a lot of the best players in his position down the years. He has a lot of energy and he is still young for a goalkeeper. When he channels that energy, he can be a top ‘keeper, which the last few international games have illustrated to a small extent.