Don’t doubt that Jordan Pickford is in Germany to win.
England’s goalkeeper wasn’t too happy about losing a friendly game of darts to a radio reporter before he sat down to talk about his chances of hitting the bullseye in the Euros. The defeat was still bothering him half-an-hour later.
Pickford has played behind England teams that have lost finals, semi-finals and quarter-finals in the seven years since he became Gareth Southgate’s No 1. He wants to change the record. “I’ve got 61 caps now,” he said. “I work hard off the pitch, I do everything to my best ability, I always want to improve.
“That’s why this is my fourth major tournament, it’s why I’ve won Everton’s player-of-the-year three years in a row. I know what I’m doing. I know I keep getting better - and hopefully this tournament is a success. We have come here to win but we can’t look beyond the opening game. It’s so important to get off to a good start.”
Questions are being asked whether England will have the defensive fortitude to become European champions. Harry Maguire is missing. Luke Shaw isn’t fit for the opening game with Serbia on Sunday and might only be a substitute against Denmark on Thursday. John Stones has had injury and illness concerns.
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Stones is likely to play alongside tournament rookie Marc Guehi, while Kieran Trippier is likely to fill in at left-back. Pickford said: “I don’t think it affects us. I’ve played with a lot of the lads over the last 18 months and anyone in the England squad is there for what they’ve done for their club.
“There are a lot of new lads, but they’ve been to major tournaments at younger levels. The senior lads can help the young lads if need be - but they’re top players and they don’t really need much help.”
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Jordan Pickford is ready for his fourth major tournament (Boris Streubel - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)Pickford’s only winner’s medal is from the 2016 Toulon Tournament, when Southgate was in charge of England’s Under-21 team. But he believes that the experience he has gained from fighting relegation battles with Everton over the last three seasons is just as valuable as the success stories he hears from team-mates who play their trade at Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Pickford said: “You’ve got lads here like (Jude) Bellingham who’s just won the Champions League. “If you look, Stonesy, he won the Treble. He’s just won the League for the fourth year in a row.
“Harry Kane scores goals for fun. He’s England’s record goalscorer - and Declan (Rice) had a fantastic season at Arsenal. I’ve had positives and negatives at Everton - and staying up was a big relief more than anything. But you also learn from the experiences of fighting for your lives in the Premier League.
“All of our experiences all bed in together to be successful in a tournament. You’ll have highs and lows throughout a tournament and that’s where you’ve got to be mentally strong. That’s why I'm here. My mentality, I think, is key. I still can’t believe I lost the darts!”
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