Jordan Pickford goes into his third World Cup with his status as England’s No. 1 in doubt and aiming to reach 100 caps, but the Everton goalkeeper is determined to finally win a big trophy with the Three Lions.
Jordan Pickford becomes England No.1 in his third World Cup (Image: PA Wire)
Jordan Pickford says Thomas Tuchel has helped raise his standards and he can do the same in England.
The 32-year-old Pickford will be heading into his third World Cup as England’s number one, but when Tuchel took over, there were inevitable questions about whether the new manager was willing to make changes. But Pickford has just enjoyed arguably the best season of his career, making some incredible saves at Everton, and admits he dreams of reaching the 100-cap mark for England.
Pickford, now 82, believes England are finally ready to cross the line after a series of near misses and heartbreaks, and says this will only motivate them further.
Everton keeper Pickford said: “I think you’ve got to set your own standards and get the stall going again. It’s like football when you have a new manager. They might have a good reputation, but they need to see it for themselves. I think that’s what drives me even more, whether it’s a new manager or a new season. I always try to improve.”
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“I’m always going to push that limit to improve. So when the manager came in last March, I knew that. It wasn’t like a test, but I felt like, ‘Yeah, I need to go show who I am and what I can do to impress the manager.'”
“That’s what drives me, that’s what keeps me going. Just keep improving, stay consistent and keep pushing my own standards to show on the pitch.”
“If I do everything in training and have the right mentality, if I work off the pitch and everything comes together well, then the game itself should be a show of what I’m capable of and how well I’m performing. So that’s the consistency I want from myself and I feel like I’m pushing myself every week.”
“Yeah, 100 caps is in the back of my mind. There’s always that chapter, there’s always those goals. But everyone knows what my goals are for England.
“Personally, that’s my goal for the next seven weeks, to win and lift that trophy. There’s been a lot of hard work and we’ve gone through a lot of chapters. That’s my goal, but then we’ll look at the cap.”
James Trafford, Jordan Pickford and Jason Steele during a training session in West Palm Beach, Florida (Image: 2026 The FA)
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Pickford himself was very close. World Cup quarterfinals and semifinals. The heartbreaking experience of losing two consecutive Euro finals, including a penalty shootout at Wembley. But Pickford insists they are getting closer and more motivated each time. The keeper also brings his own experience to the table, which he says could be important.
Pickford said: “We’ve played both teams in the final. Obviously it was against Italy, we led 1-0 early on, Luke Shaw scored in the first two minutes, they came back and it was decided in a penalty shootout.”
“Then we had the other side where we lost to Spain, where we were down 1-0, but Spain controlled it and Cole Palmer came on and scored and we got back in the game. So we’ve kind of seen both defeats. And then there was the penalty shootout, so we’ve seen all three games in two games.”
“I don’t think we’re that far away. We’ve got guys in England who are winning things on a regular basis. Personally, I know we haven’t won anything. I’d like to win a lot, but my main focus is being a leader out there and doing what I have to do and using my experience. I’ve been here since the 2018 World Cup so if you’re a young player, I hope you use that experience if you need a chat.
“We have a lot of leaders here. I’ve always said that Harry Kane is our captain, but he can’t just lead on the pitch alone, he has to bring others along. If he’s vocal and demanding, he takes the ball away – there are different types of leaders on the pitch. I think that’s the talent of a manager. It’s the balance of leaders within the 26 teams.”
Pickford vacationed in the Caribbean before rejoining the team in the same time zone for his training base in Miami, while his wife, Megan, supported him by sending messages and photos to their private room at camp in Kansas City.
He added: “My wife Megan always goes out of her way to help me, which is very rewarding. Being away from home for seven weeks can be tough, especially with three kids.
“But I said, we’re going to be apart for seven weeks, but it’s going to change our whole lives. It’s going to be for the best.”
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