SO YOU thought England had a shot at winning the World Cup after that brilliant second-half performance against Croatia?
Step forward Troy Deeney to prick your balloon.
Jordan Pickford could be England’s weak link Credit: Getty
Troy Deeney is worried the goalkeeper is weaker than other shot stoppers at the World Cup Credit: AP
The former Premier League striker and SunSport columnist does not share the same optimism for one crucially important reason: goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Deeney, working as a pundit for CBS in New York during the World Cup, made a guest appearance on SunSport’s Proper Football Daily Show.
And he identified as England’s Achilles heel.
said: “ with Jordan Pickford in goal. I just can’t.
“He scares the life out of me. , I’m like, ‘Go and pass it, pass it now.’
“He doesn’t make me feel calm like Alisson does for Brazil, for example.
“Unfortunately, when you look around, Pickford is the best we’ve got.
“When you look through the history of teams that win the , they’ve all had solid keepers.
Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score against Croatia Credit: Getty
“Some people might say he’s part of a team that had a run to semi-finals and finals but we didn’t win, did we?
“We just haven’t got that top-level goalkeeper in my opinion.
“If he’s a top, top goalkeeper, why do Arsenal go and get David Raya from Brentford instead? Yet is Raya first choice for Spain? No, he isn’t.
“Pickford’s played for Everton for a long time but if he’s one of England’s best players, why does no one buy him then? That’s the question.
“He’s been great. He’s going to go on to surpass probably everybody in terms of most appearances in caps. So fair play to him.
“, I’ll hold my hands up and say I was absolutely wrong.
“But I’ve played against him as well so I think I know what I’m talking about.
“As a striker, you thought, ‘I know what I can do here to beat you.’
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“He’s quite small which is not necessarily a negative but I think he’s erratic too.
“When we played against Everton, we always followed everything in because we thought he might spill one.
“And when you were going through on goal, you had to be ready to go down because you knew he might take you out.
“I was fortunate enough to play with Huerelho Gomes and Ben Foster, Brazil and England internationals
“Yes, they made mistakes because everybody does, and I’m not saying they were better than Jordan – they weren’t – but they had a calming influence and you felt good knowing that guy was behind you.
“Sometimes you just want a bit of calm but that’s Jordan’s personality and you can’t take that away from him.
“When you look at the top level of goalkeepers though, how many of them act and do what he does?”
“You want the best of the best in goal. And if you are looking at the top three or four keepers in the world, he just falls short of that.
“He’s still England’s best keeper and I guess that’s the only reason that he’s not been moved on. Because there isn’t someone better.”
Deeney was buoyed by England’s second half against the Croats just like the rest of the country but he is worried about the team defensively.
And he believes it is absolutely the right policy to try and go out there and steamroll opponents.
Deeney added: “I thought we were quite poor defensively.
“But you can make positive changes like bringing on and Morgan Rogers and get at them.
“We played forward, passed forward, and tackled hard.
“I look at Rashford and think we can really use what’s happened to him at the end of the season
“Nothing can p*** Marcus off more than this summer.
“Barcelona don’t seem to want him back, they bought Anthony Gordon, and then he joins up with England and Gordon’s starting.
“You can’t get more motivation than that to want to show you’re the real deal.
“Marcus is an unbelievable talent but the question mark has been his professionalism and desire to do what’s right.
“Now he’s got a goal at this World Cup and I want to see more consistency. If he sorts that out, he could have a massive part to play.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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